Desires of the Heart
by saradasama
Summary: Sakura knew she should have chosen to die; she could have died a hero, buried with honor, granted eternal peace. But they had her believing that murders too were capable of screwing up big time. And that gave her hope enough to pull harebrained stunts like kissing one, seducing another, getting drunk with the whole lot of them, and robbing their leader. [ItaSaku]
1. The Trap

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

**A/N: **_To those who might feel like they have read similar/exact same story somewhere, should know that I'd originally posted this story up in another of account of mine but had it deleted from there when I'd to abandon that account due to technical trouble. Thanks! Enjoy!_

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**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 1  
**The Trap

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Sakura took in her surroundings. It was without a doubt a civilian village, small and situated just on the outskirts of Konoha, about some fifteen miles east of Konoha's gates.

The sentries at the village gates had cast her suspicious looks when she had checked in, adamant to find any reason whatsoever as to deny her entry. Even after showing the scroll as proof of her mission here, which bore the Hokage's own seal and not to mention the Damiyo's too, they had still refused to acknowledge it for the longest time and had simply feigned ignorance. It was just when Sakura's temper was on the verge of ticking, they, probably having sensed the alarming aura emitting from her, had stepped aside to let her pass through, however, not bothering to hide their hostility.

'_It was reasonable,' _she thought. Reflecting on the fact that shinobi were always running around, breaking havoc in the peaceful lives of the civilians in the small towns, just as much as the other shinobi countries, she couldn't really blame them for wanting a bit of peace for a change.

'_I guess if I were a civilian, I would have wanted the same thing and distrusted shinobi just as much,' _she mused.

Sakura laughed to herself as it occurred to her out of the blue how it would all have been if the Rookie Nine had indeed been civilians.

'_Well, for one Naruto would always be Naruto, ninja or not,'_ it made her Inner-self snort. He probably would have been painting the Hokage Mountains as his notion of prank either way. She thought about herself and how differently she could have turned out to be.

'_Definitely wouldn't have learned to grow a backbone,' _the small voice at the back of her mind said tauntingly, _'Would be a damsel in distress through and through... Not that you are any better as a shinobi, of course.' _The snide comment from Inner Sakura sparked her anger.

'_Shut up unless you want me to shut you out like I've done for so many years before. Remember those days?'_ she threatened her Inner deviously.

'_Fine. Fine. Keep your hair on, lady,_' Inner grumbled, shutting up for now much to Sakura's relief.

In the peace of her mind, her thoughts began to drift. And how would have a civilian Sasuke been like...? Sakura closed her eyes and tried to stop her thoughts from trailing off to the young Uchiha boy before it was too late.

It had been five years that he had left them; left her lying on a cold bench. Since then they had turned over the entire five countries searching for him, wanting to bring him back with them, ready to welcome him back with open arms. But there was no sign of him anywhere. It made them question if he had ever even survived Orochimaru's evil intentions in the first place; it was no secret that Orochimaru wanted to take over the young Uchiha's body.

But he did survive; Sasori had told her where to find him as a reward for defeating him. And they had hurried across the nation, dreading that they would be too late. But no, Sasuke had been there, waiting for them. And a glimpse of him was all they caught before he had disappeared, again. But in that one glimpse of him, they also had an unfortunate glimpse of the new power he had achieved over the years, for which he had once chosen to desert them in the first place.

Sakura had taken in every minute detail. He was taller. He had let his hair grow out over the years so that it framed his face. His features were sharp as ever, chiseled to perfection. He had more muscles than she could remember him having, a sign of his progress, giving him an admirable physique. He looked as composed as ever, his face wiped off into a blank slate of impassiveness to the point of being the perfect shinobi tool, as Sakura had read countless times in some rulebook or another.

Not the slightest flicker of emotion crossed his features once as he gazed down at them. If he remembered them, or had the slightest regret about the path he had chosen, she couldn't tell as he didn't have any qualms about hiding it behind the cold exterior that he had carved under the tutelage of the snake Sanin.

But what alarmed her was the dawning that there was something darker, far more sinister lurking in his cold gaze than she could ever remember witnessing in those beautiful ebony orbs. And even before he had raised his katana against them, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she knew that the Sasuke they had once known had changed. The boy that she had fallen in love was gone. All that was left was this...

'_Shell,_' she hissed inwardly, her eyes narrowing as the unpleasant memory began to replay in her mind over and over again, much to her frustration.

This was why she didn't like to take a trip down memory lane; it kept haunting her, tormenting her over and over again to the point of destroying whatever effort she had given to forge a wall against the tide of emotions pent up in her heart.

And then of course, Sasuke had disappeared once again. And Sakura found herself wanting that he would disappear from her heart altogether; it hurt her just to think about him. And it hurt her more to think that there was very little she could do to save the boy from his erroneous ways. But it didn't mean for a second that she would stop trying. When they returned to Konoha, she had at once resumed her training to push herself to attain greater strength so that the next time she crossed paths with Sasuke, she could bring him back home for real, even if she had to drag him all the way over to Konoha.

But more and more time flew by and there was hardly any news about Sasuke. And by the passing time, Sakura found her faith to be wavering little by little each day. Maybe it was fated that they couldn't bring him back, maybe he was destined to lead the life of a rogue. For months she had teetered on the verge of indecision of whether to continue with their delusional wish to bring him back or to stop all this pointless nonsense and instead, concentrate on her own ambitions for a change.

And suddenly one day she had feebly made up her mind about moving on with her life, hoping that by each passing day would eventually wax the determination that she lacked. As to whether she had indeed achieved the willpower, she couldn't tell. But every time her heart tugged painfully in her chest when thinking of a lingering reminiscence of the dark-haired boy she had once sworn to love, it was a reminder that she had failed her resolve to move on miserably.

Sakura sighed, and raised her eyes from the ground that she had been eyeing for quite some time now; fearing that the tap to her eyes that she had been very cautious to keep shut could open up anytime now, even with the slightest temptation. Trying to pull together her inner turmoil, she looked about her.

It was still early in the morning. A very small number of people could be seen up and about getting ready for the start of another hectic day. There were a few merchants with carts loaded with goods talking business deals in hushed tones with the traders. Quite a few stalls were already open with the vendors calling out to the people that passed. It was very different in every way from the ever bustling Konoha that she was used to.

For example the air was undoubtedly unlike the one her lungs were used to. Sakura sniffed in the crispy, fresh air. It was a civilian village and therefore, the air was free of many the pollutions in the air of a shinobi village that she was familiar with. The change in the air was certainly a welcomed one, and closing her eyes, she inhaled a few more times. For some reason, it smelled of fresh jasmines.

And then another smell invaded her nose. Snapping open her eyes, she sniffed the air harder. A moment later she followed the faintly delicious scent that was wafting to her nose and was lead directly to a vendor selling...

'_Dumplings!'_ Sakura exclaimed in delight. She rushed up to the stall, ignoring the disapproving look that a passing old woman threw her

The man behind the stall was calling out to the passerby while cooking the first batch of dumplings of the day. He was taken aback when the pink haired girl suddenly rushed up to him.

"Uh...welcome young lady. What can I get you this morning?" he asked, his face pulled into a wizened smile.

Sakura looked around to examine the different types of dumplings and ordered as soon as her eyes fell upon the syrup-coated anko dumplings. Smiling at the look of anticipation on the girl's face, the vendor quickly prepared her some.

Sakura dug in as soon as the vendor placed the plate in front of her. It has been a long time since she had had the chance to taste her favorite food. Hell, she was sure that the only flavor that she had had in her mouth was that of ramen in the last few months upon her buoyant teammate's insistence. Smacking her lips and savoring the very sweet taste it left on her lips, Sakura felt satisfied in a way that she had not been in a while. And it had also succeeded in distracting her from her previous dark thoughts.

"Ahhhh!" She licked her lips as she reached out for another but found her plate wiped clean. Broken from her bubble, she realized that she was done. As much as she wanted to order another plate, she recalled her mission a little huffily, and decided it was time to leave.

After making the payment, she rose and turned away only to realize it would be easier if she asked for directions first rather than roaming around the land like a stray. Directions made it much easier and were more efficient in time management. Turning back to the dumpling vendor, she asked politely, "Ano, Oji-san. Could you give me the direction towards the Damiyo's house?"

The man smiled good naturedly before pointing her to the general direction to the north,"It's the huge mansion. You can't miss it."

Thanking him, Sakura turned away and decided to walk casually instead of sprinting, lest she made the civilians uncomfortable since she figured they were not used to shinobi in the first place.

An hour later Sakura stood on the threshold of the gigantic mansion, veins popping out of her forehead as she desperately tried to keep her calm. For the last ten minutes she had been trying to persuade the thick headed guards that she had indeed been summoned by the Damiyo for a mission. But they wouldn't hear a word of it.

"I am telling you the Damiyo requested for me himself. I have the official documents," she said with a slight hint of annoyance to her voice as she struggled to maintain her professionalism.

"Miss, please leave the threshold or else we will be forced to remove you."

Sakura's eyes twitched in extreme annoyance, she would really love to see them try. Biting back her retort, she insisted, "I have the documents," and proceeded to take out the scroll from her small back-pack.

"What is all this commotion about, so early in the morning?" a gruff voice sounded. Sakura past the men to see a tall hairy man strolling up to them; he was undoubtedly the head of security. Before the pestering guards could start talking, Sakura bowed politely as the man came to a halt right before her, looking her over from head to toe warily.

"Kunoichi-san," he nodded at her in acknowledgement, "How can I help you?"

She introduced herself, "I am Haruno Sakura, the Godaime Hokage's apprentice from Konohagakure. My assistance was requested by your Damiyo."

The man frowned, and said at a length, "We are aware of no such requests."

"Pardon?" Sakura was now at a loss. What the hell? "I have the mission documents right here with me, if you would kindly take a look."

The pink haired kunoichi presented the scroll to the man whose eyes darted over the document in deliberation. At last he closed it and handed it back to her and shook his head, his eyes closed.

"You must have been misinformed, Haruno-san. How, I can't bring myself to fathom. The Damiyo is in perfect health, there has been no such request for any medical services."

Disbelief coursed through her, as she insisted in a voice rather high-pitched, "Excuse me? The details here clearly say otherwise. It even has the seal of your Damiyo. He even specifically asked for my assistance..."

The man cleared his throat and cut her off, "It is all a simple misunderstanding, I presume, Haruno-san." He said coolly.

"But take a look at the seal! It's the Damiyo's official seal isn't it?" Sakura exclaimed as she began to feel aggravation creep up into her system.

The man's eyes narrowed and he said in a tone of finality, "Please Haruno-san. We have not made any such requests. You have clearly made a mistake. Pray leave the threshold before we are forced to remove you off it."

Before the words even registered in her head, she found the towering iron doors slam shut on her face as she stood there blinking for a couple of seconds.

'_What the hell?'_ her inner raged and Sakura herself felt the building desire to tear down some trees to burn the frustration coursing through her.

Deciding that it was not intelligent to linger around the threshold any longer, lest they changed their mind and captured her for interrogating, Sakura quickly moved away until she was in the town centre. Only then she slowed her pace and began thinking about the event that took place moments ago.

She distinctly recalled the memory of Tsunade assigning her to the mission.

**-Flashback-**

**Sakura entered the cozily furnished Hokage Office, bowing to the blonde who looked up from the never-ending paper work.**

**"Tsunade-shishou," she greeted.**

**"Ah, Sakura," she nodded and shuffled some papers around before picking up a scroll and throwing it at her.**

**Sakura caught it effortlessly and eyed it for a moment. Tsunade explained, "It's a short mission in a civilian village just at the outskirts of Konoha. Apparently the Damiyo is suffering from ill-health and has requested for medical expertise."**

**Nodding in comprehension, the pink haired girl broke the seal and regarded the words, "He has specifically requested for me?" She couldn't help but be surprised.**

**Tsunade nodded, a smirk appearing on her painted lips, "Sakura, you give yourself far less credit than you deserve. You will notice that you have become quite the popular figure in the medical field these recent years."**

**Sakura bit her lips and smiled in appreciation, "All because of you, shishou."**

**Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, "Don't be ridiculous. You are a very talented kunoichi, I'm only glad to have found you."**

**Tsunade didn't have to tell her the importance of medics in the world where danger lurked at every corner. She just smiled and said, "Whatever you say, shishou."**

**Shuffling a few more papers, Tsunade said, "So you leave tonight and can be expected to arrive there by early tomorrow morning as the distance is not very stretched. This is a solo mission since the risks are very limited, nothing that you can't take care of, of course. However, you are to return as quickly as possible since your support in the hospital is crucial. Understood?"**

**Sakura nodded, "Hai."**

**She was just about to turn away when Tsunade called her, "Oh. And Sakura, I have arranged a delegation for a very rare herb. An acquaintance of mine, Junko, will be there with the package. She has been directed to expect you at the village center at noon of the day of your arrival. Please bring them back safely."**

**"Hai."**

**"And Sakura?" The pink haired woman looked as her mentor's features softened, "Be safe."**

**She smiled at her mentor and assured her, "I'll be fine, shishou."**

**The Godaime Hokage only sighed, "I hope so."**

**-End of Flashback-**

So why on earth would the guards lie to her and deny her entrance? What did they have to prove by summoning her all these way only to slam the door on her face? They had claimed that the Damiyo was not sick at all, and they had definitely not requested her presence... And that she has been misinformed... But Sakura was sure as hell the document was authentic; it had the Damiyo's personal seal on it as proof, damnit! So why the hell would the guards insist otherwise?

Sakura's eyes widened, _'Of course!'_

Unless, indeed the information has been tampered with! Now that Sakura thought about it, it did seem a little funny that the Damiyo living in a secluded civilian village would have heard of her and request for her specifically. Something sure smelled fishy.

Well, at least they could have assisted her digging further into this 'misinformation'. Surely it bothered them to see that someone had access to their official seal? Unless...

'_...They too had a hand in it,'_ her eyes narrowed at the prospect and she felt the sudden urge to knock down their doors which they had been so rudely closed on her face and demand to know what exactly was going on.

She heaved a dark sigh, and took a few breathes to calm herself. Their uncooperative behavior could probably be explained by their distrust of shinobi in general. She had noticed how obviously wary the gate sentries were of her and how reluctant they had been to let her enter their territory.

So what exactly was going on here?

Sakura had just decided on sending a note back to Konoha immediately informing the Hokage of the circumstances, when she felt a presence behind her. Startled, she quickly whirled around, only to find a wispy elderly woman staring at her, giving her a calculating gaze.

'_What's with her?'_ she frowned, feeling highly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the old woman's eyes.

'_Perhaps this is the 'Junko' Tsunade was telling about,'_ her Inner suggested and suddenly it struck to her as the most reasonable explanation. She agreed rather crabbily with her inner, not impressed that she hadn't thought of it before her Inner.

"Junko-san?" Sakura asked uncertainly. The woman snapped her eyes back to meet her gaze and after sometime had passed, she nodded curtly.

Sakura sighed in relief. At least not the whole mission was a ruse. Smiling politely at the woman she introduced herself, "I am Haruno Sakura, Tsunade shishou's apprentice."

The woman only nodded. Sakura looked her over for any signs of the package, but found none. She asked then, "Uh...Junko-san, do you have everything shishou has requested for?"

Junko didn't say anything as she abruptly whirled around and began walking, motioning for her to follow. Sakura noticed that the woman's movements were a bit agile for a woman of her age. She must have been a kunoichi, she thought, and didn't bother to pay much heed to it.

They had been walking for quite some time now and it wasn't until Junko had led her away from the town center and into the forest that Sakura began to fidget. Glancing around the thick foliage, Sakura called out nervously, "Uh, Junko-san? Where exactly are we going?"

The woman made no reply.

Biting back her impatience at the woman's conduct and her lack of vocalizations, Sakura continued trailing after her while thinking of sending a message back to Konoha at the first chance she got. She wondered when the chance would present itself...

"Junko-san, how much further do we need to go?" This time Sakura couldn't help the impatience that seeped into her voice. The woman probably noted it too, because she suddenly came to a halt making Sakura bump right into her.

"Ano, gomen," she apologized to the elderly woman, rubbing her head sheepishly. But the woman made no move and instead, spoke for the first time.

"I see you are becoming impatient, kunoichi." There was an icy edge to the old woman's voice that, Sakura noted, sounded very wrong. She tensed visibly, her mind was sent racing.

"Well then, I will get to down to business."

Heart pounding wildly, Sakura's tried to push back the uncertainty working up to her mind as she tried to focus on the situation in hand. Taking a step back in apprehension, Sakura suddenly found herself pressed against something hard, with a huge sword pushed under her delicate throat. She resisted the urge to gulp, in fear that the slight movement could result to her neck being slit, as blood rushed to her pounding heart.

"Are you sure she is the one?" The presence behind her addressed the imposter; because there is no way in hell Sakura believed that her mentor associated with a possible rogue at any point of her life. 'Junko' merely nodded affirmatively. Her captor sniggered and didn't sound at all convinced; whatever he meant by it.

"Who are you?" She glared at the imposter who had finally turned around and was staring at her just as intensely.

"Impatient are we, Pinky?" The man behind her chuckled though Sakura could hardly find anything amusing about the situation, all the while trying to discern anything that would give her a hint of who these people actually were, and more importantly, what exactly was going on...

'_Trouble, that's what!'_ her Inner snapped in frustration.

She growled both at the intended nickname and her Inner, but only glared at her restraints, "I asked who you are!"

There was a pause and then the man pressing the sword against her throat chuckled darkly as 'Junko' raised her finger to perform a simple seal and let her appearance falter. Sakura could only suck in a gasp. Because of all the things that she had expected, she never expected an Akatsuki to be standing there, eyeing her impassively; much less, Uchiha Itachi.

To be continued

_**A/N: **__I have this story all planned out in my head but have no idea how it will actually turn out, mostly because I tend to be hit by writer's block in the worst possible moments. But with a bit of luck, I'll be able to finish the story since I know how frustrating it feels to not have a story finished- both as an author and a reader._

_I don't know if I have done enough but I hope you'll find it a good read. Feedback would be most appreciated, of course!_


	2. Fight & Flight

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

**A/N: **_If I haven't made it very clear then I apologize, but I ain't stealing anyone's work here. If you have read this story or something vividly similar before, you should know that this story was put up from another account of mine before I'd to abandon that account altogether with the stories. So yes, the content of the story is as authentic as it gets!_

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**Desires of the Heart**  
Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 2**  
Fight and Flight

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"Akatsuki," she grounded out in disgust as silent horror swept over her. That must mean that the one trapping her was none other than Hoshigaki Kisame of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist.

'_We're so dead,'_ her Inner chimed in but she ignored it. She didn't have to hear from Inner what she already knew.

The Uchiha took a few steps forward, his steps slow and sure. Everything fell into a lapse of silence as a bone-chilling breeze picked up around them. His darks locks blew against his pale cheeks as he continued walking towards her.

As he came nearer, she could see his blank face that peered at hers from just above that wide high collar. There was only coldness in his gaze, like he was contemplating how easy it would be to kill rather than wasting time in a pointless fight. There'd been many a times she had felt fear, many a times she had bit it back, but this was just too much. He just looked at her, cold, impassive, blank, his pinwheel eyes seeming to bore into her very soul. She found herself unable to look away.

Sakura was more than surprised that she wasn't dead on her feet yet, or worse, that she hadn't been pulled into the dark abyss of the Mangekyou. She tore off her gaze from his alluring ones and struggled to keep her eyes glued to the collar of his cloak instead. She wasn't ignorant of the wonders of the Sharringan, much less the one as dangerous as the one Itachi possessed.

Vaguely, a part of her wondered if it was them who had tampered with the mission information. The mere thought alarmed her. The compulsion to ask him was playing in her thoughts, but the sword pressed to her neck so tightly made her resist. Kisame's large hand was clamped on the back of her neck as the cold steel covered under the white bindings were pushed further up across the plane of her throat.

At length she made up her mind. She was dead either way; she had to get as much information as she could and find some way to send word to Konoha. So she gathered every ounce of courage within her, praying to Kami that this was all just some kind of a dream gone bad. When she opened her mouth, she could barely recognize her own voice, "Where is the _real_ Junko-san?"

"She has not been harmed, you need not be worried," Itachi's voice was as monotonous as she had imagined it to be.

It barely said of the old lady's fate, but Sakura bit her lips from asking any further, not wishing to push her luck. She was hanging on a thread as it was. Besides, the Akatsuki didn't have any reason to lie about the safety of an old woman; if they had disposed of her, they would have just as coldly informed her of it.

So she asked the next important thing, trying desperately to keep her voice from trembling like her insides were, "What do you want from me?"

Sakura could see by the movement of his chin, that Itachi had cocked his head, "Would you make it any easier if we made our motives clear to you?" He sounded...

'_Amused?'_ She thought incredulously to which Inner agreed without a hesitation.

Sakura shook the ridiculous notion of Itachi being amused out of her head; she doubted he was capable of such a feat that would define him as something close to humane.

Sakura could already guess what they could want from her. They were in charge of capturing the Kyuubi; they merely wanted to take her hostage in hopes of luring out Naruto, which would definitely succeed if Sakura knew the first thing about Naruto. Thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. For what else could she be good enough, right?

Or, it occurred to her, that they had simply stumbled upon her and thought her to be a good kill. She was more disgusted than terrified at the thought.

'_This is all your fault,'_ Inner Sakura suddenly had the nerve to accuse her.

She willed herself to keep a level head, deciding that panicking would not get her anywhere. But it was a lot easier said than done. Sakura agreed to her Inner's accusation and cursed herself for being careless enough to get in this situation in the first place.

She should have just run back to Konoha as fast as she could, with her tail between her legs, as soon as the Damiyo had slammed the door on her face. She should have connected the lines and saw through this trick. Hell, you would have thought that she would have learned not to trust strangers by now!

Eyeing a spot on the elder Uchiha's cloak, she knew very well that she had no chance of engaging them in combat; much less sport the idea of winning. Her only option was escaping as soon and as swiftly as possible. Which was also easier said than done.

She tried to concentrate more on ways to get out of Kisame's death grip rather than letting her attention get caught by the way Itachi's lips were pressed in a single impassive line that could pass for his mouth, for, now her eyes were drawn to his lips.

Slapping herself mentally, she focused on her plan to escape, careful to wipe her face off any indication to her treacherous thoughts. Sakura considered kicking out, but it would be a blind hit, and if the shark-man detected as much as even a twitch of muscle, she had no doubt that he would gladly shred her into pieces. So she forced herself to stand still, and for a few moments, the only sounds in the clearing were a distant chirping of bird, and the easily audible pounding of her heart.

She considered drawing chakra to her hands and pushing away the huge sword pressed against her, realizing that she would need as much strength her chakra enhanced fists could muster to overcome the shark man's overwhelming muscle power, not to mention the sheer magnitude of the blade as well. That would drain her chakra reserve considerably, and then there was the chase that Kisame and Itachi were sure to give.

'_Tell me you aren't serious! Do you really think that you'll be able to outrun them?'_ Inner shrieked indignantly.

Sakura knew Inner was right. Surely their speed was impossible to beat for an average shinobi like her. But she had to give it a try.

'_We'll never know if we don't give it a try, right?'_ she told herself bitterly.

'_And risk dying?'_ Inner sounded panicked and it was her cue to tune it out, lest she got distracted by her own conflicting thoughts.

Sakura closed her eyes, trying to even out her wildly fluttering heart so that she could focus on her escape plan rather than cower in fright, before this already terrible situation could get any _worse._ She decided that she would never get out of this if she didn't at least give it a try. She couldn't afford to be indecisive now of all times. She had to give it a try, and pray to all the Gods who would listen, that it worked somehow.

Swallowing the bad taste in her mouth, she reached for her chakra as discreetly as she could muster, and to her shock she could only find a temperate amount, not the full reserve that she had cared to maintain for her supposed healing assignment. She was alarmed; without her chakra she pretty much didn't stand any chance against any regular rouge, and this was Akatsuki she was dealing with for Kami's sake!

Kisame said, naturally perceptive of her intention, "Surprise, surprise, Pinky."

She could _hear_ the smirk in his voice. _'He bloody drained my chakra!'_

Sakura shrieked in indignation, and used all her strength to do the one thing she could think of right then- step on his foot- never imagining in her wildest dream that it would _actually_ work. With a thunderous cracking sound, the ground too broke apart under their feet from the brute force of her chakra-laden kick, splattering them with dirt as Kisame was forced to move away from her.

She could only blink as Kisame cursed her with passion, wriggling his more than stinging foot. He glared at her. Not wasting the chance, as weird as it was, Sakura immediately moved further out of his reach.

"You little devil," Kisame watched her through narrowed eyes, "I'll get you for that."

She wanted to turn around and run as fast as she could and never look back, but thought that it was probably not very wise at the moment. It would evoke Itachi, who she noted out of the corners of her eyes, had made no move to interfere, to pursuit her as well as Kisame. She knew for sure that she couldn't even outrun one of them, let alone both of them. She needed to incapacitate Kisame first, or at least needed to create a highly effective diversion, long enough to let her slip past.

Besides, for the time being Itachi looked content to stand aside and watch the battle that unfolded between Kisame and her; which was mostly verbal given Kisame's state. She was thankful, because one Akatsuki on her plate was already too much on her plate right now, and she didn't need to add an Uchiha Itachi to it too.

Cursing her loudly and fortunately drawing her attention to him, Kisame took a good grip on his gigantic sword and made a mad dash at her. Sakura barely had the time to swing her head backwards as the sword slashed through the air where her head been a moment ago, before Kisame caught himself from the momentum of the swing and was quick enough to landed a punch on her stomach before she could even straighten up. Sakura, bent double in pain, was sent flying until halfway airborne, she disappeared with a poof.

"Shannaro!"

Sakura broke out from beneath the ground where she had hidden herself in the brief moment of distraction, aiming a punch on the shark-nin's face, only to be dodged as he vanished from her line of sight altogether.

Sakura panicked for a slight moment as she caught herself from the momentum of the punch and then realized that he would most definitely be coming at her from...

'_BEHIND YOU!'_ Inner yelled.

She whirled around just in time to duck from his huge fist that would have knocked her out cold should it have landed its mark.

Before Kisame could recover from the momentum of his failed punch, Sakura crouched low and used her feet to make a sweeping kick at him. But Kisame bent low and caught her ankle and twisted it making her yelp in pain. As Kisame smirked in crude satisfaction, Sakura, despite the throbbing pain on her ankle that was still caught in Kisame's monstrous grip, bent her knee to get closer to him and was successful in landing a chakra enhanced punch on the face of the disheveled Mist-nin making him let go of his grip as he flew across the clearing and crashed into a tree.

Dropping on the ground she quickly charged her chakra laden hand through her ankle, relieving it off its pain, but the skin remained purple. Hurriedly she wasted no time to look up at the scene before her. The smoke had dispersed to reveal an uprooted tree, but Kisame had disappeared.

A whistle of the wind was all she heard before the enormous blade came from her right, aiming to undoubtedly behead her. Using a thick sheet of chakra to cover her hands as a form of protective gloves, she caught the blade in her palm, satisfied to see that it protected her hand from getting sliced.

However, it looked like her chakra was draining, fast, and it wouldn't take long for the sword to successfully slice off her hands. Narrowing her eyes at the sly look that Kisame flashed her, she pumped another round of chakra to her palms, and using all the strength left in her limbs, yanked the sword forward towards her.

Now normally of course, someone as bulky as Kisame wouldn't have even moved an inch by the likes of a pull from a petite girl like Sakura. But because of the carefully utilized chakra work and the Tsunade-inherited-monstrous-strength, the sword was yanked forward just a little bit with relative ease along with its master's hand, and that little moment of waver was all Sakura needed to execute a sharp chakra spike in Kisame's wrist. In the blink of an eye, Kisame's hand went limp, and his sword went clanging down on the ground as she kicked the ground to pull back and put a safe distance between them.

Sakura just had a second to register Kisame's bewildered expression with a deep satisfaction rising to her heart, before her sixth sense prickled and her eyes widened as Itachi flickered within her sight, standing between her and Kisame.

She sent a barrage of poisoned senbon at Itachi, which she didn't even have to turn around to know that he had deflected without even blinking once of course. Kisame, too, seemed to be able enough to move away.

She took the opportunity to make a desperate, pulse-pounding, maddened dash due west. She couldn't remember the last time she moved so fast, her adrenaline pumping through her veins as she sprinted across the forest. Itachi didn't show any sign to move away from where he stood in front of Kisame's hunched over body. But she didn't pause on his account; taking it as a chance to get the hell away from there in any way that she could.

It was a suicidal exploit, she knew. But she had no intention of letting herself fall into the hands of the Akatsuki for them to do with her whatever hell they wanted her for.

She ran through the thick foliage blindly as fast as her legs would carry her, not caring where she went as long as it meant she got as far away from _there _as possible_._ She didn't dare to take a look behind her to see if anyone was following; she didn't have to see it to _know_ that he was following her. She dismissed the thought of hiding, with the Sharringan and his prodigious brain it would take him no time to find her. Her only chance was fleeing- and that too, was as slim as it could possibly get.

The thick green forest seemed all too same to her eyes and it suddenly occurred to her that she could be running in circles.

'_Genjutsu?!'_

She realized with a jolt that genjutsu was indeed Itachi's specialty. She skidded to a halt and made the seals and waited for the genjutsu to falter. The landscape didn't dissolve away, but the lights seemed to dull a bit by the corners, which Sakura took a sign that the illusion had been cancelled.

As the faint trickles of chakra that had been lingering around the place as it held the illusion in place faded away into nothing, she wondered how on earth she had missed the chakra flow, an obvious indication of the genjutsu. How long had she been trapped under it?

'_Did the fight with Kisame even really happen?'_

Her heart beating frantically in her chest, she spread out her senses warily, feeling for the presence of anyone besides herself... For a long moment she held her breathe, but probing once, twice, thrice, she still found nothing.

'_Are they gone then?_' Inner asked, just as breathlessly as she was. Had they decided to give up for good? Sakura earnestly hoped so. For all she knew, they could be lurking in the shadows for the perfect opportunity... She shuddered involuntarily.

Enthusiastic about putting as much distance as she could between them, she decided to move further away from the reaches of the Uchiha and his aquatic partner. She reached for her chakra reserve and to her horror found a diminishing flicker of energy, just enough to keep her from passing out. Sighing, she decided to cloak whatever poor excuse of chakra she had left in her, just to be careful, and then kept an even pace as she ran across the forest floor.

After a while, predictably enough she began to feel the effects of the toll the battle had taken on her and it was becoming quite difficult to keep her eyes open. The spot on her ankle where Kisame had twisted didn't hurt like hell, but it still hurt and was easily becoming a hindrance.

Looking down at it, she flinched. It had taken the shade of a nasty bluish purple too. Deciding that it was better to treat the wound before it got more troublesome and required more chakra than necessary, she bent over, her hand glowing faintly.

She let the chakra die out in her hand and sighed in content, eyeing the patch of the normal looking skin on her previously purple ankle. She wiggled her toes and twisted her ankle lightly, satisfied that it didn't hurt in any way. She straightened up and cast a cautious look to her right and left. Pursing her lips, she took a few taxing steps forward.

There was the slightest flicker of movement in front of her, and Sakura immediately skidded to a halt, unearthed her last kunai, and threw it at the disturbance, praying for accuracy. Sakura never knew when Itachi swiftly crept behind her from the shadows, until he decided to let his chakra flare, giving her a heart attack!

And for the second time that night, Sakura broke out in a run at a break-neck speed that she never knew she was capable of. The foliage was much thicker in this area of the forest, and soon she tripped over a cluster of vine. She didn't notice the rather nasty scrap on her knee as she jumped up to her feet and continued limping, this time looking back and forth desperately. Never in her life had she felt this much like a hunted animal.

She felt Itachi's rapid approach, but her legs seemed to have fallen asleep, and disregarded any command that her mind sent its way.

'_Move! Move! MOVE!'_ she snarled.

Nothing happened as she stood there frozen to the ground.

"If you wish to live, I highly suggest that you don't make another move." Sakura didn't think she would ever grow used to the coldness of his voice.

Despite her best efforts, her breaths came fast and shallow as she walked backward now, keeping her eyes trained in front of her where the Uchiha would approach from any second. Her shoulders shook, and for a moment, she wildly considered stopping this desperate attempt to escape-

"I thought I said not to make any sort of movement."

His breathe was warm and dangerous against her ear. Panicking, she jumped around to send the last of her chakra into a punch aimed at his jaw, which in all her alarm, was so far off the actual mark that it wasn't even necessary for him to dodge it. Sakura's eyes widened with horror as she realized that she had missed.

Itachi's pale arm shot out of the shrouds of his Akatsuki cloak and with lightning fast movements, his grip was secured around her wrist. The heat from his touch was shocking to her nerves as she had expected nothing less of icy cold grip. And as fast as expected from him, he shoved her around so that her back was pressed to his front, her hands captivated in his larger ones behind her back painfully.

She gasped, the tip of his kunai resting on the delicate skin of her neck but not enough to draw blood. She resisted the strong urge to swallow down her fear. It seemed like an eternity, the few seconds that passed between them, all the while Sakura's life began to flash before her eyes.

"Wh-What do you wa-want?" Her lips barely moved.

Itachi didn't dignify her with an answer.

Suddenly something inside her snapped and she forgot all the previous notions of staying still in the Uchiha's grip and hope that he doesn't slit her throat. She struggled against his firm grip and in the process felt the sharp prick of his kunai, "I will NOT be used as some kind of-"

She didn't get the chance to finish.

The next thing she knew was that she was being jerked around to meet the Uchiha's face, still unreadable, but for a moment his hand loosened. And surprised by his sudden movement, she made the one fatal mistake of taking a look into his eyes... The result was instantaneous as she felt herself being sucked into his spinning blood red eyes and felt her knee buckle as she stumbled upon Itachi in the loss of her balance.

At the verge of unconsciousness, Sakura subconsciously made the last attempt her diminished chakra would allow. Extending the dregs of her healing chakra from her fingertips, she plunged the scalpel towards him. As expected of him, he moved out of the way swiftly, but only a second too late. Sakura watched her scalpel pierce into black robes and cut through the tendons of his right hand before the green concentration of energy flickered out of existence.

If it hurt, he didn't show it as his face remained carefully blank. But Sakura's experience in the medic field was long enough to have taught her the pain that a scalpel can inflict if intended as a weapon.

The triumph of hitting him was the last thought her head could conjure among the overwhelming pain that hit her brain in waves, and then darkness overcame her, leaving her entirely in the mercy of Uchiha Itachi.

To be continued

**A/N: **_I practically have little to none experience in writing fighting scenes, but I'm hoping I've done enough to portray the battle vividly enough for you all to enjoy._

_Reviews would be most appreciated!_


	3. The Proposition

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I

**Chapter 3  
**The Proposition

* * *

_Crash!_

The noise reverberated throughout her head, making her stir. She flinched as soon as she came back to her senses. Her head throbbed with a dull pain; making her want to clutch her forehead until the pain stopped hitting her in such sharp waves.

"Tobi! Look where you are going, yeah!" someone snarled and there was a loud smacking sound.

"Ouch! What was that for, senpai?" a childish whimper sounded from very close to her.

Everything sounded unfamiliar. Memories of the recent events flowed into her mind.

'_Akatsuki_.'

Sakura didn't dare open her eyes or make any kind of movement. She held her breath in.

"You better breathe in a lungful of air before your face turns blue like Fish-face, kunoichi, yeah," someone was telling, "And Tobi, you idiot, keep away from my art!"

Sakura stiffened as she realized that the first part of the phrase had been addressed to her, and decided to take the unknown person's advice and let out the breath that she was holding in. Chiding herself for getting caught so easily, she snapped open her eyes.

There was a man in an orange mask with swirling patterns peering down at her, blocking the light out of her eyes and so making it easier for her heavy eyes to adjust to the surroundings. She blinked up at the guy for a long time.

The mask had only one eye-hole and she saw his clear, dark eye widen for a fraction before it crinkled to a smiling one as he began clapping ridiculously, "She is awake! She is awaaaa-" He never anticipated the fist that came to meet his face.

_CRASH!_

There was a moment of silence while Sakura did a quick check over her body for any kind of bruises and found none, but she noted the obvious absence of her chakra. Maybe that's why she felt so exhausted to the bone.

There was a cackle from the far end of the room and her eyes instantly snapped up towards the noise and she had to bite back a cry of surprise.

"So that's what Kisame got the bruise from," the blonde was saying in between his guffaw, and nodded at her in, what Sakura could only deduce as approval, "I gotta hand it to you, yeah."

Sakura recognized the blond man as Deidara of the Akatsuki from a file she read about Akatsuki. He was not wearing his Akatsuki cloak, making it hard for her to actually believe that the laughing and easy-going man could ever be as dangerous as his name suggested. And he looked very young too.

The air settled as Tobi sat up groaning in pain. He was not clutching his head which seemed to have taken most of the injury where a huge, red bump poked out. He was instead covering his face with his hands. Chips of orange could be seen falling off his face. He whimpered.

Before she could think anything else, the paper door at the far end of the room slid open noiselessly, letting in a flitting ray of bright yellow light into the gloomily lit room. Her mind instantly replayed how she came to be here.

Managing to stand up from where she had been sitting, Sakura bit her lip as her eyes fell on the figure at the other side of the room. The tall ninja stood there at the door, unmoving. His gray-blue epidermis was tinged a muted skin tone in the dim orange glow of the lamp fire. Sakura could see the bruise taking a repulsive purple color on the side of his cheeks where she had landed her punch earlier. His limb also looked awkwardly stuffed in the sleeves of his Akatsuki robes. Sakura suppressed the smirk tugging on her lips.

'_So I did fight him after all, it wasn't a part of the genjutsu,'_ Inner sniggered along with her.

His black soulless eyes watched her every movement and that same dark smile was on his mouth as if it was still there from the last moment she looked at him. Sakura could see the shark man's sickly sadistic grin bending the gray flesh around his mouth.

"I have been waiting for you to come around, Pinky." The sword strapped to his back made a grilling sound, startling her. Sakura wondered if he was planning of taking some kind of dreadful revenge on her for the punch and the hand.

'_Oh, let him come, we'll take him on,'_ Inner flipped her hair haughtily, '_There will be more from where that punch came from.'_

Sakura raised a brow at her other persona, _''We?''_

That shut her Inner up, leaving her free to concentrate on the more pressing situation at hand. Her eyes followed Kisame's every movement warily as he came to stand in the middle of the room, prepared in case he lashed out. But he merely stood there surveying the part of the room which lay in a rubble.

"What happened here?" He eyed the frantic Tobi who was now trying to piece together his broken mask and directed his question at Deidara whose laughing fit had at last resided.

Deidara chuckled, "Pinky here is a fighter, yeah," he explained and took a look back at her with his sole gleaming eyes. Sakura couldn't place the look that he gave her. But knowing him it couldn't be far off from blood thirst, she shuddered.

A wide smirk spread across Kisame's blue tinged lips, he spared her a sweeping look, "We will have to see about that soon."

It made blood rush to her head in anticipation of what was coming. For the first time since waking up Sakura let the fear that had been threatening to seep in from the very beginning come crashing on her. The fear she felt creeping up her veins, to her heart and her brain, was very different than the panic that she had felt earlier in the forest. It was much more intense, and she hoped that the others didn't notice the tremor that passed over her. What has she gotten herself into?

Everything about the fake mission and the Junko clicked into her mind; she needed to inform Konoha about this as soon as possible. But seeing where she was now, she doubted she would ever get the chance. She distinctly wondered how she was even alive...

"What do you want from me?" she asked, eyeing the two men in as much contempt as her fearful heart would allow.

"Yeah, man. From when does Uchiha force himself on women, yeah?" This earned Deidara a glare from the said Uchiha's faithful partner. Sakura's lips quirked upwards, and she would have laughed then if the situation at hand hadn't been so dire.

"Shut up if you know what is best for you," Kisame murmured, withdrawing to one corner of the room to lean against the still intact wall.

Deidara seemed to color a little but decided to say nothing more on the matter. He called at Tobi, "Oi, get yourself together. We are leaving, yeah."

Sakura glanced down at Tobi who was still bent over his mask trying to fix it. He complained, "Bu-But senpai! It won't stick!"

Despite herself, she raised a brow, was this truly an Akatsuki member, dangerous as the word itself? She couldn't believe it; if anything, Tobi seemed like a child trapped in a body older than his. Surely he couldn't be up to the malevolence that requires of an Akatsuki...

"Kunoichi."

Sakura stiffened hearing the cold, quiet voice. Her mind whirled and her eyes snapped back at the doorway. There stood Uchiha Itachi, his red eyes spinning as he regarded her, his face cleared in a blank slate. How long he had been standing there she couldn't tell because she hadn't heard him coming to stand there.

Sakura was startled to find herself looking into his eyes and instantly removed her gaze, choosing instead to look at the high collar of his dark robe that reached his chin. She remembered the last time she had peered into those pair of haunting orbs.

'_And look where it has gotten me,'_ she grumbled.

'_Not true,'_ her Inner decided to drawl out now of all times, much to Sakura's irritation, _'You know you wouldn't have stood a chance even if you hadn't taken a peek.'_

'_Shut it,'_ Sakura growled, unleashing the frustration that she felt creeping up to her on her Inner, _'I'd like to tell myself that this is entirely his fault.'_

If she had felt frightened when Kisame had entered, she didn't know what to feel now. She tried to keep herself calm, but whatever inner tumult her face could hide with difficulty, she knew that her emerald eyes betrayed it all. She cursed herself for being so poor at controlling her emotions. How did she even make it this far in this treacherous world?

In an attempt to keep her eyes anywhere but on his eyes, Sakura's eyes ventured down to his right arm. It was where she had used her scalpel and succeeded in piercing through his muscles, hopefully she even had severed more than enough nerves to render it useless. The thought brought a little quirk on her lips, despite the situation of life and death she was faced with right then. It was just the fact that it wasn't everyday that someone could take Uchiha Itachi off guard.

She would have liked to push up his sleeves and examine his hand to see the effect she had left with her own eyes, rather than _knowing_ that it had affected him. But his arms were hidden within the shrouds of his dark cloak.

'_And I can't just ask for a peek now, can I?'_ she said to herself scathingly.

Closing her eyes, she just let herself bath in the triumph of knowing that she had caught him. And being a medic she knew that it must hurt like hell. Then with a grimace she realized that even if she had indeed hurt him, he showed no indication of any pain. This made Sakura groan mentally as she realized, with a high pain tolerance as someone of his caliber should have, he may not even have considered the blow as much as a scratch.

Itachi, probably noticing how her eyes lingered over his arm, lightly cleared his throat to bring her attention back to him.

"Uchiha-san," she replied quietly, nodding at him, again fixing her eyes anywhere than his lethal eyes.

"Kunoichi, do you know why you were brought here?" he drawled out in his impassive tone.

The words flew out of her mouth even before they even registered in her own mind, "You mean kidnapped?"

There was a pause while Sakura's eyes widened in the horror as the weight of her own words sunk in. She cursed herself for being such a fool. You don't just go offending people as dangerous as them! If she was wondering so long why she had been kept alive, now she would surely be killed and relieved of such thoughts.

Then Deidara chortled, making Sakura wonder if she should sigh in somewhat relief or say her last prayers all the same. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Kisame's beady eyes shifting from her to his stoic partner, a hidden amusement shining in them.

"Hn."

Sakura's eyes flinched as she realized how much Itachi sounded like his younger brother right then. Immediately she struggled to push back the pang that hit her chest. She unconsciously clutched at her heart.

"Is something the matter, Pinky?" Kisame mocked her, because there was no way she would believe him to be capable of being concerned about someone's well being. She managed to glare back at him which only made him arch a brow.

Her eyes went back to meet Itachi's Sharringan; for a moment she was not scared of its wrath as she felt anger building up inside her, not for kidnapping her but rather for sounding so much like his younger brother and in turn arousing the uncertain emotions within her which she had struggled to lock up for so long.

He didn't use his eyes on her.

Emerald eyes narrowing she hissed, "Since I'm not dead yet, I'm guessing you require something from me. And since you did the honor of kidnapping me, why don't you do the honor of enlightening me as well?"

The silence that followed was overwhelming. The air around them seemed to have tightened. Something was escalating; she could feel it. Maybe it was Itachi's power because the room seemed filled with his presence; filled with some sort of prickling energy that scared her poor heart even more.

But Sakura didn't dare break the eye contact with the Uchiha. She knew for sure that she had blown it this time. Even if there was only a slight chance of him disposing of her at the earlier comment, there would be none to save her from his wrath now. But she found herself not caring, instead she felt a strange sense of satisfaction for being able to mock Uchiha Itachi and live at least the next second to feel the fulfilling sensation.

The rest of the Akatsuki seemed to be holding their breath too, watching the two of them, unblinking. It looked like even they were just as sure of her fate and were only waiting for the blow to make contact. She herself waited for the dojutsu to pull her into the world of eternal pain... Unknowingly she closed her eyes in anticipation and saw her whole life flash in front of her like she had earlier in the forest.

But nothing of the sorts happened. Sakura's eyes cracked open as she blinked stupidly for a few seconds.

"Manners, kunoichi." Was all Itachi chose to say, much to her amazement. Sakura took a fleeting look at Kisame out of the corner of her eyes who seemed just as bewildered as her.

Sighing, she knew she had better listen to Itachi's direction, lest she wanted to be killed right there. Perhaps there was still a chance to...negotiate her way out? Perhaps rescue teams were already being sent out in search for her? She didn't dare hope.

Then she asked something that had been bothering her ever since she was driven out of the Damiyo's household, "Did Akatsuki have anything to do with the false mission requesting me?" She knew the answer even before it came, but she wanted to make sure that her assumption was wholly correct.

"We are not obliged to answer your queries," Itachi said in his monotonous voice.

"Nevertheless, it's a pretty harmless query," she presented her logics, adding, "It would be better for me to know the whole situation if I wanted to think clearly, rather than making assumptions."

She seemed to have a fine point as the Uchiha replied smoothly, "The mission was false, devised in the fashion to lure you out."

"That would explain the specific request for me," she muttered under her breath.

'_But why though?'_ No matter how much she thought about it she couldn't find any other reason for them to go through all these trouble other than to secure her as a hostage for using as a bargaining chip against Naruto. It was the very likely reason. Of what other use can she be of?

Shaking her head she asked the next question, "And what about Junko-san?"

The elder Uchiha cocked his head, "What about her?"

"Is she unharmed?" she asked, dreading that the way Itachi had stalled her question would bring some unwanted answer.

"I was under the impression that I had already answered that question, kunoichi," he answered smoothly in his deep, firm voice. Sakura sighed in relief because the last time she had asked of the old woman's fate the results had not been alarming.

Nodding solemnly, she moved to the next question, which had been bugging her for some time now, "Have you sent a message to Naruto yet? Of my capture?"

This time Kisame downright laughed and exclaimed, "Pinky you are one of a kind, really!" But it didn't strike to her as anything amusing and in fact it was quite repulsive coming from one such as him.

"Thank you," she said, her voice laced heavily with sarcasm as Kisame laughed more despite the obvious offense, and even Deidara was chuckling to himself quietly. Sakura turned instead towards Itachi expectantly.

He seemed to be smirking, another trait that seemed to link him to his resemblance with his younger brother. As she saw a familiar look cross his lips, she tried to stop her mind wandering to the dark thoughts regarding the younger Uchiha; now was not the time. It had been a long time since she had seen that same Uchiha smirk on the other man's mouth, but it seemed like it had been another time, another life away.

"You assume we have captured you to lure out the Kyuubi," he remarked, his smirk still in place, "I thought you had made it clear that none of us wanted to work on meager assumptions."

Sakura could only blink at him stupidly, "Huh?"

Then everything clicked into her mind. So they were saying that their motives were...different from capturing Kyuubi? Should she be stupid enough to believe their words? And what would Itachi ever gain from lying to her?

Out of the corner of her eyes she observed the other three Akatsuki. Deidara and Tobi seemed oblivious to this whole thing. Perhaps they had no hand in it, Tobi seemed clueless enough to convince her of their detachment. Kisame on the other hand, definitely played a part in it. And what would _he_ gain from lying to her about their motives?

Right. Simply nothing.

Sucking in a deep breath she outright demanded, crossing her hands over her chest and narrowing her eyes at them, rather than the elder Uchiha, "Then what exactly do you have in mind?"

Kisame smiled at her, a matter of revulsion to her, and for one crazy moment Sakura panicked when the thought crossed her mind that he would reply saying that they had brought her just for the kill of it. But no, Kisame just smacked his lips much to Sakura's distaste and asked, "Impatient much? Well then, let's get down to business."

"Kunoichi," Itachi had her attention again by just one word. Sakura took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst, knowing that whatever was going to come out of his mouth was never something that would sound good to her ears.

Itachi seemed to observe her quietly for a moment before dropping the bomb, "It has been noted that Akatsuki is in need of the skills of a medic."

Deidara and Tobi seemed as astonished as herself. On second thought Sakura noticed that it was true that she had never come across the knowledge of any Akatsuki members having the skills of a med-nin.

'_Not that they needed it,' _she snorted.

Deidara and Kisame raised a brow each, at her. She just bit her lips. So they had basically said that they had sought her out for her medical services. Not happening. It was out of question! Maybe she should take pride in her abilities that were note-worthy even by the standards of few of the top shinobis to ever live, granted they were all criminals. But, predictably, she felt deeply insulted by their thoughtlessness.

"You are asking me to join Akatsuki's ranks as a medic?" She tried to steer clear of the anger that threatened to burst out.

"No," Itachi's answer made her stop short. What the hell? Didn't the man just say so a minute ago? She wanted to pull at her hair. He was truly complicated, she decided.

"What the hell?" She could feel the veins popping out on her forehead, not that it would serve any purpose other than getting her killed sooner than destined.

"A certain situation has aroused requiring the most competent medical attention. Clearly Tsunade-hime was not an option..."

'_And hence me,'_ she completed the sentence in her mind as Inner sniggered. She winced, _'I should have known.'_

"How dare you think I would help the likes of Akatsuki after all you have done?" She didn't try to contain the rage that spilled out then. She looked upon them in contempt, surprisingly making Tobi, who had managed to salvage what was left of his mask and put it back on, flinch under her gaze. Deidara and Kisame seemed to be most amused by her outburst.

But Sakura looked forward to Itachi's reaction most, since she figured that her life or death depended very much on it; but he was of course as unreadable as ever. And just when she was beginning to think that he wouldn't lash out, suddenly he disappeared from the line of her sight, making her heart pound erratically.

Instinctively Sakura took a step back only to be pressed against something, or rather someone. She stiffened. Warmth was the last thing that she expected to radiate off him. Biting back a gasp, she stood her place, willing her body to not betray the rolls of fear that washed over her. She tried to contain her heart within her chest.

The tip of his kunai was pressed into her throat, reminding her awfully of the last time in the forest. The warm line of blood slid down her skin as she waited to see if he would respond or end her life. Those few seconds seemed like an eternity before he spoke.

'_Such a foolish gamble, Sakura!'_ She was angrier at herself than anyone. Why, oh why, did she of all people have to be so stupid enough to be outspoken; especially in the presence of international S-class criminals?

"Kunoichi, know your place well."

The words were low and whispered against her ear, making a shiver run along her back. The hair on the back of her head trickled as she held her breath, waiting for the worst. But for the umpteenth time that day, nothing came. But Sakura didn't dare let out the breath that she was holding in. Finally the kunai was withdrawn, but she could feel every bit of him against her back. It didn't promise much to her life.

Sakura would forever be grateful to Deidara who just then took a step forward and broke the unyielding aura that had filled the room in the last few minutes.

"Well we will be off now, yeah." Turning to Tobi he motioned him towards the door.

Tobi who had been standing on the rubble and had been silent the whole time, finally seemed to be broken from a trance and said in his high pitched voice, "Bye-bye, kunoichi-san. Tobi had just wanted to see kunoichi-san's hair from a closer view earlier because Tobi had never seen anyone with pink hair."

Sakura felt remorse built up deep within her chest at the innocence in the masked man's voice, but a second later she blinked and checked herself.

'_What am I thinking?'_ she cursed herself for being so soft.

Tobi bowed to her humbly, shocking her. "But Tobi had obviously made kunoichi-san mad. Please forgive Tobi. Tobi meant no harm. Tobi was only curious."

Sakura swallowed at the clarity of the boy's apology. She could only nod in acceptance of his apology. Her hands itched to summon her healing chakra and heal the bump on his head and the limp on his leg which she noticed as soon as he began walking towards the door where Deidara had been putting on his straw hat and Akatsuki cloak, observing the whole exchange.

This time Itachi who was still standing still all this time and about whose presence Sakura had all but forgotten, spoke, "You will heal Kisame and Tobi."

No matter how much her hand itched to heal Tobi, Kisame's name made her remember the company she was now amongst, and brought back her spirit immediately.

"No."

Sakura was sure that by now everyone had assumed that she had a death wish. And died she would have, if not Akatsuki's pressing need for the skills of a medic. She knew from her heart that it was the only reason that kept Itachi from killing her. But she could tell by the way this was going that it wouldn't be long that they would see it fit to dispose of her, seeing that she was proving to be more trouble than worth.

"You will." His voice was firm, leaving no space for resistance.

Sakura noticed how he made no mention of the injury she had inflicted upon him earlier or demanded of her to heal him; it proved to her that indeed he hadn't considered the blow even a scratch. She snorted; if Itachi could take a hit from her most formidable jutsu and feel nothing, surely Kisame and Tobi's injury was a child's play. It didn't matter whether they were in pain or not, or that defying Itachi's words meant certain death, Sakura would be damned if she gave in.

"Never."

There was a flash in Itachi's eyes but before he could act upon it, Tobi interrupted, frantically shaking his head, "Tobi is quite fine. Itachi-san need not trouble kunoichi-san about healing Tobi! No! No!"

And Sakura didn't know what made Kisame say it, perhaps it was his ego or perhaps it was just out of pity for her, probably the first since Sakura knew that the shark-man could want nothing but to kill her as painfully as possible. "I will be damned if I let that vixen touch me anytime soon."

Sakura was stupid enough to comment, "A wise decision Kisame-san," making Kisame laugh out loud. She seemed to make him do that a lot. Besides, she had merely used a numbing technique on Kisame's hand, nothing lethal. His senses would be coming around in a while as soon as the jutsu dispels. She could see one of his fingers already beginning to twitch.

'_And as to his cheek that has gone a nasty shade of purple, hmm, he deserved that.'_ She pursed her lips.

Itachi didn't question their refusal and after what seemed like forever to Sakura, he finally moved away from her, his steps towards the door swift and easy as he pulled his straw hat over his dark locks. He was turned away from her, but shifted his head so that she could see the left side of his face a little.

"We will leave you to consider the proposition..." Sakura scoffed at the choice of the word making Itachi's eyes flash. But he didn't comment about it, instead continued, "...if you don't accept, the consequences will be dire. And if you do..."

Sakura interrupted him, frowning at his back, "Don't bother explaining Uchiha-san, because I have absolutely no intention of accepting it."

There was a pause and then Itachi disappeared. For a moment Sakura prepared herself to expect him to appear in front of her, or behind her, finally making her pay for her constant insolence. But he seemed to have really been gone. As his lasts words rang in her ears, Sakura couldn't suppress the shiver that went along her back or the fear that rose in her throat.

"Choose your words with care, kunoichi."

After a full minute that Itachi was gone, the others who were just as frozen to the spot as her, finally made a move.

Deidara sighed, "Well, trust the Uchiha to be all cool." Then he turned towards her, letting a smirk touch his lips, "Why don't you just agree to it, yeah?" He saw the angry outburst coming towards him and raised his hands in surrender and winked at her, "You are stuck with us either way, yeah."

Deidara finally left the room with Tobi following his suit after bowing to her and apologizing to her once again. Kisame was the last person to leave. She could see the sadistic smirk curling around his lips.

"What is it?" she snapped at him; she had enough of them for a lifetime.

"Maa, maa, what a temper you have there, Pinky," he laughed at her openly.

"Oh yeah? You have yet to see the first of it, Kisame-san," she spat out at the floor.

Kisame paused, staring at her in astonishment before recovering, "Was that a threat Pinky?"

Even if Sakura was stupid enough to say what came to her mind, she was not just going to tempt a famed mass murderer into killing her by confirming that it had indeed been a threat, albeit one that she most certainly couldn't carry out.

When Sakura didn't answer he waved a dismissive hand towards her and continued, "Well, anyways, you should watch your tongue. And don't try anything funny. We will be notified the instant you try to pull something off. He won't be so considerate next time, Pinky."

Sakura could only be sure that the 'he' referred to Itachi.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped at him instead.

"Besides, I can feel the senses coming back in my hand. Who knows if I will be able to resist the urge to fit it around your neck the next time around?" His laughter rang out and then the sound of the door sliding shut, and Sakura was left to herself, her eyes twitching at Kisame's wicked innuendo.

Sighing, Sakura fell on her knees. The ground was made of stone and was cold. For the first time she took the time to take a good look around the room.

The room was quite spacious with stone floor and walls. There was only one window, facing a pond of some kinds, giving her no clues whatsoever about where she was situated.

'_Country of Waterfall maybe?_' Inner Sakura suggested but she shook her head dubiously.

The room was very humbly furnished with tatami rugs and a futon at the corner of the room. There was some tapestry hanging from the walls but held nothing of interest to Sakura. The room was dimply lit by one single fire lamp; the orange glow was far different from the florescent ones that she was used to back at home.

She walked over to the wall of which most of it lay in rubbles.

'_What are you waiting for, knock the damn wall down!'_ She watched Inner grin in her mind's eye.

Sakura sighed, _'It's not that easy.'_ She glanced at the chipped off stone, the wall was too thick to actually be penetrated by one of her non-chakra enhanced punches. _'They drained me off my chakra,'_ she made a face. _'Besides, it would take at least a few chakra enhanced punches to make even the smallest dents on this solid stone.'_

Plus, the walls, the window, the door, all of it seemed to be wired with some kind of chakra that trickled through it. Now anyone of lesser knowledge in chakra manipulation would have never noticed it. But Sakura being an efficient chakra processor, had noticed it without even touching it or disrupting the flow. Because a disruption would surely inform her captors of it and could do nothing more than invite trouble for her. Hence, all forms of escape route were blocked, unless of course, she wanted to invite trouble.

She didn't think she wanted to take another chance with the Akatsuki this soon, especially with their patience which already was running low with her. She had already as well as pissed Itachi off and it was his mood that made the difference between her life and death. Kisame had very well walked out of the room with a challenge. She didn't want to evoke the monsters within any of them on simple whims.

'_If we're going to pull out an escape from the clutches of Akatsuki and hope to make it out alive_,' she told Inner, _'we have much to plan.'_

But for now she was exhausted to the bone. Groaning to herself, she flopped herself on the futon. The mattress didn't bring her any comfort; mentally or physically. Tossing around for some time, she settled to simply summon up everything that had happened in the short period of time. With nothing else to do, Sakura had no other choice but to mull over the proposition that Akatsuki had bombarded her with.

The capture itself informed her of nothing, other than that Akatsuki had found means to tamper with the Damiyo's seal and with Konoha's mission roaster. The prospect was alarming. She hoped that Junko was safe by now and has deduced something to send back word to Konoha of her misfortune.

She wondered how much time had transpired since she lost consciousness back at the forest. Why had she forgotten to ask them so? Surely, if word has reached Konoha by now, rescue teams have been dispatched... But then again Akatsuki wasn't stupid enough to leave a trail behind them, unless they wanted to lure them here, which she doubted now since Itachi also had made it a point to outright deny. Not that she believed his words for it of course, but really, what did they have to gain lying to her?

'_So they must be telling the truth,'_ she mused.

But that meant that Akatsuki was truly in medical trouble... she vaguely wondered which of their member it was. It must be pretty serious and quite a delicate situation if they were anxious enough to seek outside help.

Sakura's medical side kicked in and she found herself growing curious by the second as to what could have happened to one of the members of Akatsuki to have disregarded their ego and vehemence to seek out help... She wanted to know.

Plus if it was a delicate situation and if she agreed it would mean that she could possibly get knowledge of the anatomy of one of their members to some extent, and that mere knowledge was sure be of a great advantage to Konoha in the times to come. Or maybe she could even manipulate certain components in the body to serve her purposes...of course she would have to be careful, lest she wanted to get discovered and killed.

Then it drew to her mind. Akatsuki was seeking out help, yes, that must mean that they were aware of the matter of revealing many of their secrets to a complete stranger, and in her case, a certain enemy. Why would they ever risk revealing themselves to one such as her?

The thought made her blood run cold.

Unless, of course, they were planning on disposing of her as soon as they deemed her unnecessary to their cause; for they possessed both the authority and the malice to do so.

And then another though crossed her mind; one that made her eyes widen in horror greater than the thought of her disposal.

She had _actually_ been considering the offer.

Sakura clenched her fists and bought them to punch on the either sides of the futon she was lying in. She stared up at the high stone ceiling, unconsciously following the long web that some spider had conjured.

She lay there in silence for a few moments, breathing in and out, calming herself. Finally she opened her eyes.

A picture of Naruto flashed in front of her, grinning at her like there was no tomorrow. And then Kakashi's face popped up, his lone eye crinkled. Tsunade's proud smile as she watched her knock down trees. Her parents telling her that they were very proud of her as she showed them her green jounin vest. Ino's smirk as she challenged her. Lee giving her a thumbs-up in all his kindness. Neji smirking at her, telling her that she had indeed improved. Tenten teaching her how to throw a shuriken with the perfect accuracy. Hinata blushing as soon as she mentioned Naruto's name. Shizune. Sai. Shikamaru. Yamato. Kurenai. Chouji. Genma. Gaara. Temari. Kankuro. And so many, many more people who looked up to her and depended on her.

She was ashamed to have even considered the offer. There was nothing to consider, there was nothing to think about; her choice had already been there from the very start. To think anything beyond that was surely treason.

She was a respected kunoichi and she served Konoha and that's where her loyalty rested. There was nothing to think about. Her choice was set and she would stick to it. It didn't matter even if it costs her very life. Shinobi were raised to value their country's aspirations over their own lives. Likewise, she was a loyal shinobi of the Leaf, and she couldn't think of a better way to die than protecting her country's honor.

Sakura found herself drifting off in an uncomfortable but appreciated slumber, with the last thoughts of an unwavering resolution.

There was no way she was going to betray Konoha or her friends' trust by healing even a scratch of their mortal enemies. Uchiha Itachi could kill her if he wanted.

To be continued

**A/N: **_Personally, I love the last sentence hehe :3_


	4. The Question Remains

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I

**Chapter 4  
**The Question Remains

* * *

The next day Sakura woke up to find a tray of the most simple food resting beside her futon; but as her stomach grumbled with passion, Sakura realized she would normally never be as content as she was then with the items on the tray.

Devouring the plate off its steaming noodles and the fresh green apple, Sakura satisfied herself by taking small sips of water from the glass to quench her dry throat.

After breakfast she put the plate and the glass on the tray and organized them and left them by the door for someone to come in and take it away, just as someone had delivered it there.

Vaguely she imagined Kisame in a pink apron sliding the paper doors open and leaving the tray there and broke out in fits of giggles.

'_That would be a sight to see.'_ But she doubted anyone would ever witness such a sight, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn't live to tell the tale.

Then she lounged around, having nothing to do or to think about since she had already decided on what to make out of the proposition. For some time she fancied devising up escaping strategies and then concluding with a sigh that, as brilliant as she was, she would never be able see through it with the Uchiha genius on her tow. And then, what was the point of trying to escape? They would catch up to her and finish her off. They planned to do so anyways at some point.

So she found herself not worrying her head about pointless schemes to run away and to just remain an obedient little girl. At least it would keep her alive until Naruto and Kakashi came crashing on the door, searching for their weak little Sakura-chan. Maybe they would even be able to defeat her captors and save her. Until then Sakura made it her mission to remain alive by some means other than agreeing to their offer.

But then again one can't just waltz in and hear about the dilemmas of Akatsuki and then waltz out like a free bird. So Sakura was pretty sure she was fated to die very soon one way or other. But she decided she would like to stall it and see a few more days if she could help it.

Pushing all ideas of escaping at the furthermost corner of her mind, Sakura found herself facing with the problem of keeping her mind off the proposition. The more she thought about it, the more she found some twisted reason to agree. At one point instead of chanting her original decision, she began to try to lock up the whole topic at the darkest corner of her mind.

But it was pity that there was nothing else in the room to take her mind off it. When nothing seemed to be working, Sakura lay down on the bed and willed herself to fall in a dreamless sleep. And when that didn't work out well, she just busied herself in counting sheep.

It was much later that she woke up, having heard the hissing sound of the paper door sliding open. Rubbing the sleep off her eyes she found Kisame standing there, looking around.

"Oh, it's just you," Sakura said, yawning at the back of her hand.

This seemed to amuse him, because he chuckled. Sakura wondered what it could have been to amuse him so.

"Is there something you want?" She asked, questioning his very presence.

"Weren't you advised to choose your words with care, Pinky?" He grinned at the look of annoyance that crossed her face. Finally, she sighed.

Kisame leaned against the door frame and explained, "I was just coming around to check on you, see if everything was alright," his black eyes gleamed, "But you seem to have managed just fine. That's an improvement Pinky, giving us no trouble for one entire day."

Sakura frowned at him; it was like he was there just to ridicule her into doing something stupid, _'So as it turns out, he does want to get me killed after all.'_

"How is the bruise coming along, Kisame-san?" She asked all too sweetly, referring to her punch that had bruised his cheek purple. She saw with a glint of satisfaction as Kisame's eyes flashed and his jaws tightened and then his pose relaxed and he laughed, making her blink.

"It is like you are asking for us to kill you, Pinky. I want to shed you into pieces, I'll admit it," he ran his tongue over his lips making her shudder, "But then, what's the fun in making everything easier for you? I want to see how this plays out."

Sakura had no idea what 'this' meant, but she didn't have the heart to ask anymore. She merely turned away from him and walked over to the window.

"How long has it been since I was captured?" She changed the topic, looking out at the moon shinning in the clear night sky. She wondered if her friends in Konoha were seeing the same moon as she.

"We took you in yesterday and now you wasted a day sleeping in," he flashed a grin, showing off his pointy teeth. Everything about the man made her shudder.

"Hmm."

So it has been two days; too short a time for Tsunade to suspect anything, unless Junko had found the sense to inform the Hokage of her misfortune. Maybe Junko had assumed the attack on her life by the Akatsuki as mere coincidence? Maybe she wasn't still up from being knocked out by the Sharringan or the shark man's blow? Then another thought occurred to her.

"Did you cross paths with Junko-san or did you merely pose as her from Intel?" She suddenly asked him. Seeing him cock his head in confusion, she explained further, "The old woman who was waiting for me."

Kisame laughed, "Oh that. We had no idea you had plans of meeting up with some old hag in the first place. We just made up a henge to lure you out from the town. We didn't want to attract attention to ourselves did we?"

This made Sakura whirl around at him in revelation, "But didn't Itachi-san mention about not hurting her?"

"Well, we couldn't hurt her if we didn't cross paths with her in the first place, right?"

Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. This meant that Junko was as safe as a mouse and no harm had befallen her.

But this also meant that neither Junko, nor anyone else had the faintest idea of the misfortune than had befallen her. Junko, herself may assume that her absence was related to her being tied up with the other 'mission'. Maybe she would wait for another few days before thinking something was off and contacting Tsunade. By then it would be too late...

Shaking off the thoughts, she realized another very important and vital fact. Right now no one had a clue where she was. Or who took her, which is if they were even to guess correctly that she had indeed been kidnapped.

Sakura groaned in dismay and slammed her head against the window ledge, disrupting the chakra flow in the process. Kisame immediately took care of the disruption by just mingling his chakra into the wall, no doubt alerting the others or just Itachi, that everything was under control.

"I'm sorry," Sakura had the politeness to say, for she could guess that Kisame would have to answer to Itachi about this later and how frightening it could be for those who valued their lives.

'_Not that Kisame needed it; surely Akatsuki had rules against murdering their partners.'_ Inner said scathingly.

Before she knew it, she asked Kisame about it, "Has an Akatsuki ever killed his partner?"

Kisame looked at her with mirth, "Why do you ask?"

Watching a broad grin curl on his lips, she wondered whether she should take back her inquiry while she had the time. Sakura just shook her head. It was just something that occurred to her.

Kisame answered anyways; and it wasn't the answer that she was expecting, "Many a times." Sakura shot him a horrified look, and he just shrugged and chuckled at her expression, no doubt questioning her shinobi status in his mind, "In fact, Kakuzu killed so many of his partners over some petty fight or other that Leader-sama had to partner Hidan with him."

Sakura remembered reading a thin file on the Akatsuki member Hidan as they didn't have much on him. Maybe she should try and see if she could dig some information out of the shark-nin about him.

She scrunched up her nose in distaste, "Is he the one that follows a... er, Satanist cult?" She finished uncertainly.

Kisame waved his hand dismissively, "Jashin, Hidan calls him," Kisame didn't look very convinced of the entire idea, "Anyways, Jashin granted Hidan immortality a few years back in return of the sacrificial ceremonies dedicated to him. With Hidan, Kakuzu can't kill him off. That saves a lot of recruiting trouble for everyone."

"These... sacrificial ceremonies... er, they don't involve sacrificing humans, do they?" Sakura didn't know why she asked it, because the answer would definitely be what she dreaded; she could see it coming.

Kisame grinned, "Why? Blood spilled makes you queasy, Pinky?"

Kisame hadn't given her an affirmation. But it was as good as one. Inner Sakura gagged, and she had to put a lot of effort to restrain herself from doing the same. She didn't want to know anymore about the ways of Akatsuki; they disgusted her to the very core!

"I see your hand is back to normal," she commented bluntly, trying to avert the topic. Kisame didn't reply, but Sakura caught the motion of his limb twitching a bit.

After some time passed in silence, Kisame at last withdrew from this position at the door, "Well, everything seems fine to me. I will be going now," and turned around before pausing, "Oh, and here you go, your back-pack." He tossed a little bag towards her which she caught with automatic reflex.

"You will find everything that we deemed," he paused to find the right words and smirked, "_safe_ in there. The other things were removed."

Sakura nodded, noticing the weapons were obviously missing. They had let her retain the medical scrolls, which was good as it would give her something to do other than staring up at the dreary ceiling or wall. Flipping through the contents she realized what else was missing; the scroll that documented her mission.

She raised her eyes to meet Kisame's. He probably had lingered around to watch her realize the absence of the scroll in the first place in order to mock her. He merely flashed all the thirty-two sets of teeth at her. She didn't see the point of mentioning the scroll anymore; it was evidently forged for the purpose of luring her out into their trap. Instead she remembered about her earlier need to clean up.

"I would like to clean up."

It seemed like Kisame had never heard of the prospect of cleaning up judging by the look he wore; not that Sakura was surprised. She snorted. He thought over it for some moments before nodding and motioning her to follow him. Sakura grabbed the only other spare of clothes that she had bothered to pack since the mission had been a short one, and followed him out of the room.

She felt a strange sensation creep up to her when she was exiting through the door and concluded that it was the chakra flow alerting her captors of her exit. But she didn't have to worry about that. It was up to Kisame to explain to the Uchiha if he came rushing in. Sakura giggled at the thought of Itachi rushing in. Knowing Itachi that would be the last thing he would ever be seen doing. Because Uchiha Itachi didn't rush; he was just precise to the point of precision.

'_Speaking about Itachi, where is he?'_ Inner asked skeptically. She hadn't seen her since the time when he made the proposition. She decided to ask the blue skinned man, "Where is Uchiha-san?"

Kisame paused a bit, before simply saying, "Out." Sakura didn't see the need to push him.

Halting outside the washroom, Kisame nudged her in, slamming the door shut after warning her, "Don't try anything funny now, Pinky."

Sakura waited for his chakra to walk down the hallway and to the downstairs floor where his chakra stayed positioned. She then proceeded to strip off her clothes and turned on the shower, letting her body relax under the steaming water.

'_Ah, it feels so damn good.' _Inner moaned in agreement with her.

Lathering her hand with the soap she washed her body, ridding her body off all the kinks and dirt alike. She found a bottle of shampoo in the shelf and took advantage of it. After she had dried her hair off, it felt as soft as silk. When was the last time she had had the fortune of having such silky hair? Not in recent times. Sakura was just done drying herself when the loud knock on the door startled her.

"Eeep!"

"Oi Pinky, hurry up! You have been in there for the last half an hour!"

Oh, has it been so long? It certainly didn't feel like it. Yelling back that she would be out in a minute, she began to dress herself in her spare red shirt and the plain black ninja slacks.

When she came out some half an hour later after washing her clothes and setting them to dry, Kisame wasn't standing guard outside the door. Sakura wondered what was expected of her. Was she to return to her room immediately? She must be. But being curious in the nature, Sakura ventured in the opposite direction, making sure to follow Kisame's chakra; she didn't want to be found far away from him and be accused of trying to escape. It would definitely be the last straw.

Treading down the stone steps, she found herself in the rather cozily furnished den. Kisame's chakra was coming from the other room to her right, as was a loud eerie rumbling sound. She took a few hesitating steps into the kitchen to find Kisame indulged deep in alcohol, his head passed out on the wooden table and the floor littered with empty alcohol bottles. Seriously, did the man drink all that by himself? Drinking was injurious to health as it was and drinking in such extents... Sakura didn't want to think how Kisame's liver might just look if they were to cut him open.

'_Probably as blue as his skin,'_ her Inner snickered in amusement.

But Sakura was more concentrated in containing her pounding heart as she stood there frozen, watching every disgusting bubble that came out of Kisame's drunken nose and popped away lightly. Adrenaline pumped through her. She didn't dare extend her chakra to check his to see if indeed he was passed out or not. The urge to rush towards the main door was strong.

For a second she hesitated, thinking about the consequences of getting caught in the act. But the urge to escape was overpowering as she began to take steps backwards as silently as her excitement would allow.

Sakura winced as her back collided with a wooden chair, making a creaking noise. She shut her eyes, dreading the sound of Kisame's roar... But the loud snores continued. Sighing in big relief, she slowly turned around and slowly tiptoed across the kitchen, careful to keep her excitement under watch in case she screwed up in all her impatience.

She paused at the middle of the den. A few more steps and she would be out of her prison. In all the excitement Sakura didn't realize that the main door maybe flowing with her enemy's guarding chakra just as her room's door, or that even if she did make out of the door, it would take long to actually be in safety from the hands of Akatsuki. Or that it was impossible to make it out of the unknown land with the little amount of chakra she had. Or that it would take a miracle to dupe Uchiha Itachi.

Containing her exhilarating heart, she meekly glanced over at the kitchen one last time to make sure that Kisame wasn't roused and was definitely not following her; she didn't want to have his awful sword pressed against her throat again; especially now that he would definitely be going for the kill and not to mention that nuke-nin in a drunken haze was not the best combination for people who valued their lives.

No, Kisame was not following her. He was still passed out in the kitchen, his loud snores reverberating against the wooden table. A small smile of triumph broke out on her lips.

She turned her head around and took one step towards her freedom...

...

...

...

...Only to collide into something hard.

The cry of pain left her as her hand flew up to nurse her definitely broken nose, she stumbled back, a strange rush of blood rushing to her.

"Ouch!" She flinched at the stinging pain on her nose.

"Where do you think you are going, yeah?" A very amused voice whispered.

Sakura's eyes widened as she slowly looked up to meet the lone cerulean eye of the blonde whose appearance reminded her of Ino. She groaned. So much for freedom. Sulking, she turned around and waddled over to the couch and flopped down on it, moaning in pain. She felt dizzy. She looked over at Deidara who stood over her, eyeing her in open amusement.

"Is there something funny in what you see?" She demanded in irritation.

"Just how striking the blood looks coming down your cute little nose, yeah," he replied, eyeing her face with, what she took as awe.

Sakura's eyes twitched as she shrieked indignantly, "You creep!"

Deidara seemed to find her reaction very entertaining as he threw back his head and laughed openly. Sakura could only glare draggers at him as she summoned what little chakra she found in herself to her hand to heal the injury before she fainted.

Before she could put her healing chakra to work, there was a loud noise from the kitchen and next moment a very sober Kisame with eyes as big as saucers was seen running out of the kitchen. He was just going to fly up the stairs when he sensed them there and whirled around. His eyes immediately fell on the pink haired kunoichi and raised his sword to point at her,

"YOU!" He all but roared.

Deidara seemed to have controlled his laughter a little, as he witnessed the whole exchange. He whispered to her, a smirk tugging on his lips, "What have you done to Fish-face this time, kunoichi-san?"

Kisame strode over to them, his eyes were frantic and he was slightly panting, "What exactly were you trying to pull off?"

Sakura blinked as her mind raced to come up with a reasonable excuse.

"What got your knickers in a twist?" She slapped herself mentally as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Kisame looked confounded as Deidara howled with laughter.

Glaring down at her, his sword dangling very close to her throat, he narrowed his beady eyes at her, "You were trying to escape weren't you?"

"No," she said bluntly, hoping with all her heart that the lie sounded convincing.

Kisame didn't look like he believed her as he motioned to her nose, "How did that happen?"

Deidara, in all his kindness, came to her rescue, "Give her a break, Fish-face. She was being careless and bumped into me, yeah."

Kisame pondered over the blonde's words for a moment and then shrugged and seemed to have believed him. Only when the big man had turned away to leave to the kitchen, did she throw back her head against the arm-rest and close her eyes in relief.

"It'll be our little secret, yeah," the whisper made her crack open her eyes.

Deidara was bent over the couch, his chest almost touching hers, as his mouth brushed against her ear making her shiver.

"P-Pardon?" She stammered, her mind carefully wiped blank.

"Your little...episode...I'll keep it a secret."

Sakura's eyes widened. So he knew. She narrowed her eyes, but then why was he saying that he would keep it a hushed? Wasn't he an Akatsuki, didn't he have to answer to his comrades?

"Why?" Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper as she searched his blue eyes that regretfully reminded her of the vastness of Naruto's eyes of the same shade. Like Naruto's, his too seemed to hold an endless spark of delight in them.

Deidara's lips stretched into a smirk, "Let's just say I want to observe this," he paused, searching for the right word, "this _art_, yeah."

He finally seemed to straighten up, running his hand through his light locks. All the while his eye roamed around her face, taking in her clouded eyes as if she couldn't understand something. Smiling, Deidara added, "Besides, this is not my mission, yeah."

What was this 'art' he was referring to? And then the remark about it not being his mission; she knew that this was Itachi and Kisame's mission, and while Deidara didn't have any obligation to it, did that give him the liberty to screw it up? Shaking her head mentally, she concluded she wouldn't ever be able to understand the minds of an Akatsuki. She just wasn't capable of such a feat. She doubted anyone with a sane mind was.

Instead she withdrew her eyes from the blond man who was still staring down at her, and concentrated on summoning the last of her chakra like she was doing before Kisame oh-so-rudely interrupted her, and began setting her nose. In a few minutes, the nose was back to its original position and her lightheaded feeling was residing. But her chakra was positively drained. She felt exhausted.

"You look like you could do with some food in your system, yeah."

Sakura looked up at him with tired green eyes. It was becoming hard to keep her eyes open. "Hmm?"

"Uchiha ordered Fish-face to make dinner tonight, yeah," Sakura faintly sniggered as the thought of Kisame in a pink apron came to her mind, "Come," Deidara offered his hand.

Sakura looked up at him and glanced down at his outstretched hand. Her mind whirled, she couldn't think properly.

'_But,'_ she told herself, _'What the hell?'_

She accepted his hand and was glad for the help as he effortlessly pulled her off the couch and up on her feet.

"Arigato," she muttered, wobbling on her feet a little. Smiling, Deidara caught her elbow and helped her walk across the den back to the kitchen.

Tobi seemed to have dropped out of nowhere and was peering down a bowl and saying something to Kisame when his eyes fell on the new comers.

"Deidara-senp..." he trailed off, his eyes fixed on the hand that was supporting the pink haired kunoichi who was struggling to keep her eyes open.

Tobi's uncharacteristic silence caught Kisame who had been stirring the soup on the stove, and he turned around and looked rather taken aback by the sight he saw. Deidara was helping the pink haired kunoichi... But what really surprised him was the fact that the girl was actually letting him help her.

Yet Kisame didn't say anything, letting his eyes to only linger on their linked arms for a moment more, his lips pressed in a thin line. Deidara caught his eye and shrugged as he helped Sakura to sit in one of the chairs.

"We will need an extra plate, yeah," he simply said.

Sakura noticed that the kitchen looked a lot cleaner than before and that the empty alcohol bottles littered around the floor were all taken care of. With the sound of something simmering on the stove, and the harmless chitter-chatters of Tobi in the background, she was happy to drift off right there on the chair when a voice caught her, making her eyes fly open in alarm.

"Why is that we need an extra plate?" The voice was coming from the doorway.

Itachi, Sakura realized with a jerk, her previous exhaustion all but forgotten.

Deidara had been standing behind her chair, hiding her from the view of the doorway. Now Deidara decided to move away, settling himself in the chair on her right.

"Kunoichi-san is joining us for dinner, Itachi-san!" Tobi chorused, making both Deidara and Kisame relax visibly as they had been unsure how to respond to the Uchiha's blunt question whilst preserving their lives. Itachi didn't seem to mind since he didn't say anything, instead made his way to the table and seated himself directly opposite of Sakura.

Kisame began to fetch the dishes and Tobi helped set the table. The food consisted of plain rice, cabbage and miso soup. Sakura had to admit that Kisame was a pretty decent cook. Or she was just famished. No one spoke during the meal or for a very long time after the meal, waiting for the tea. It was surprising how homely the whole scene seemed like.

Kisame had just risen to clear up the table, again with the help of Tobi. And Sakura found herself wondering if she should volunteer to do the dishes, now that her strength was coming back. But then she caught herself; what was she thinking, wanting to offer her help to her enemies? She reminded herself that she was through with this topic; she wasn't going to help them, no matter even if it was in little things like washing the dishes.

Deidara was making miniature bird like statues with what appeared to be clay. Sakura could sense the faint hum of chakra coursing through the tiny creatures. Deidara caught her staring at his little creations and flashed a smile. She continued watching him play with the clay birds until tea was finally served.

Itachi was the first to finish his tea. Sakura tried concentrating on her tea when she realized that the elder Uchiha's eyes were boring into her. She took the last few sips and kept her eyes down casted. When the last drops of tea were sucked up from her cup, she put it down, concentrating on memorizing the pattern on the saucer instead. She didn't know what she was expected to do now.

She didn't want to look up at his scrutinizing gaze but when Sakura did risk a quick peek up at him, she immediately found herself captured by those deadly red eyes and unable to look back down, making her feel like a deer caught in headlights, as he stared down at her unblinkingly.

Her breath hitched a little.

"You are expected to have come to a decision by now," Itachi spoke calmly, his voice as monotonous as ever.

Her heart was thundering hard in panic as she realized that there was no avoiding this confrontation. Sakura ran her tongue over her parched lips; how was she going to tell him that she wasn't going to accept it without getting killed? She hadn't yet come up with a plan...not that she ever could. She was dead the instant she had stepped into that civilian village, one way or another.

Sakura pushed back the fear that always seemed to awake deep within her whenever the Uchiha was around. Swallowing hard, she began, "Uchiha-san, I have thought-"

"A simple yes or no will suffice."

That was cold. Biting her lips and preparing herself with the prospect that the words that she was going to utter could very well be her last words; she looked at him squarely into the eyes. She swallowed hard, and then spoke, her voice sounding strange to her own ears.

"My decision is the same as the last time."

There was a long pause, where every pair of eyes in the room seemed to be glued to her, making her want to cringe. Her heart that thundered in her chest seemed to have stopped beating altogether as she waited warily for his response.

When Itachi moved next, Sakura was sure that her end has arrived.

But he had only been shifting his hand. "And why is that?" He asked.

Sakura was shocked at the notion of Itachi ever asking people for their reasoning...and it seemed Deidara and Kisame were surprised too, by the way their heads had instantly snapped to his direction.

What type of a question was that? He must know of her loyalty to her village, to her friends and family... Wasn't it clear as the water? There was no way she was going to betray her loved ones.

But then again, what would he know of such bonds? He had murdered his own blood and flesh in cold blood. He had bought down the curtain on his clan in one night and left his younger brother with the tormenting memories of a phantom, pushing him as far as to seek out the help of a sociopath as Orochimaru.

Sakura realized that if she were to blame anyone for how Sasuke turned out to be, it was this man who was sitting right in front of her ridiculing her very loyalty towards her village with nothing but a blank face. Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura didn't know what possessed her to do so, but she jumped to her feet, slamming her hand hard on the wooden table making a sick cracking sound erupt as she glared at the elder Uchiha. At least it was better than her initial urge to jump on him and strangle him, not that she could manage to go as far as to get near him.

She was vaguely aware that she should be feeling fear cloud her mind as those vivid red eyes surrounded by the long lashes worthy of putting a woman to shame, stared back at her pinning against her very soul. She knew that she should be frightened for her life as he too rose from his seat, pushing the chair backwards as it made a screeching sound against the stone.

But Sakura strangely didn't feel any of it. She could only feel the anger that came bursting like water bursting out of a dam.

"How dare you?" She trembled at the intensity of her rage.

"How dare I what, kunoichi?" Of course, he had the nerve to ask.

"How dare you question me about my loyalty?" She found herself screaming at him across the table, not caring how dead she would be even before she'd finish the sentence, "How dare you forget that not everyone is like you, driven by the selfish purposes and only bearing their own benefits in mind? I have friends and a home to protect! I have people depending upon my very decision! I have my family and loved ones to cherish! You might have the _privilege_ to do as you might, kill as you might but not everyone is like you! Not everyone _enjoys,_" she spat the word in disgust, "killing people, let alone their own flesh and blood."

Sakura couldn't describe the atmosphere of the room right then. There was something very dangerous brewing, only greater than the time when she had provoked Itachi the day before. There was this prickling sensation and she felt the whole room weigh down on her as if... as if by his mere presence!

In the blink of an eye Itachi was standing in front of her, his taller frame looming over her as his crimson eyes stared down into her pools of emerald. She stepped back in reflex until her back met the stone kitchen counter. She was cornered, with the Uchiha pressed against her. She could feel his warmth through their heavy clothing and his equally warm breath fanning across her face.

For the umpteenth time since meeting him, she wondered why he didn't just pull her into with his Sharringan and leave her to rot in the world of Tsukiyomi...

She saw something dark twist in his face, the face that was _always_ pressed into a blank slate of impassiveness. Was it anger? Was he angry at her? Was he even capable of such an emotion in the first place? Was he going to kill her?

"I don't need to justify my actions to you, kunoichi," his voice was dark, making her heart clench in fear. His red eyes pierced right through her.

"No, you don't," she found herself mumbling along, completely unable to take her eyes off his face. His complexion was darker than Sasuke's and his jaw line as prominent as those of his brother's. But what drew her in were his eyes; his blazing red eyes that revealed nothing but the dangers that lurked behind it curtains that stared right down her, right through her, leaving her bare. His eyelashes were so long, and the shape of his eyes was something akin to a woman's femininity. And if anything the creases under his eyes drew her in even more.

"Like you said, I can kill you without a flicker of hesitation just like I killed those of my flesh and blood."

"Of course, you can," Sakura agreed to it without a doubt, her mind registering nothing but his red, red eyes that seemed to have captivated her jade ones once and for all.

"And perhaps I would enjoy it too." There was a flash in his eyes making her breath hitch.

There was a pause, in which Sakura's emerald eyes never left his deadly ones, and seemed very well as to relent to the Uchiha's demands. And then she finally whispered, her eyes shining with a renewed determination burning behind them. There was no way she would give in.

"No."

...

...

...

Itachi didn't do anything; instead the darkness that Sakura witnessed on his expression disappeared altogether, once again leaving a blank slate on its wake. Sakura felt herself grow jealous of his poker face; she had never been able to master such a thing, only hanging in between, letting her emotions get the better of her every time.

He stepped back from her, but his eyes never leaving her. Instantly Sakura missed his warmth, the humid air of the room seemed far too cold for her.

"Your loyalty is admirable, kunoichi. I will give you one more day."

"And so what if I help? After that you are just going to use me to lure out Naruto, I assume! And then use me for your sick agendas until I'm deemed useless and you'd be free to kill me!" She shouted at him vehemently.

But of course Itachi had turned away from her and took two steps back, his cloak hiding the rapid movements of his feet. "Kisame," was all he said.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Kisame glancing at his ever stoic partner.

"Either way you are stuck with us for now," Kisame told her, sounding much formidable than he did in her room earlier.

"Hn." Itachi lingered long enough to hear Kisame's words before he disappeared into the thin air.

The moment that he disappeared the whole atmosphere seemed to have come loose. She could hear Deidara shift in his seat. Sakura dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She was aware of the other three lingering presence in the room, but couldn't help the sobs that racked through her body. It had been years since she had cried, always subduing it over and over. But finally the tap seemed to have come loose.

There was hurried footsteps coming her way and then she was engulfed in warmth. "Kunoichi-san don't cry! Tobi doesn't like it when people cry! Tobi is sure Itachi-san didn't want to make kunoichi-san cry!" Tobi's frantic attempt to calm her down went unheeded as he hugged her, kneeling beside her.

"Itachi-san didn't want to make kunoichi-san cry! Itachi-san even praised kunoichi-san!"

As Sakura leaned in to Tobi's arms, darkness finally overcoming her sad soul, she realized with a shocking jolt, that yes, Itachi had indeed praised her.

"_**Your loyalty is admirable, kunoichi."**_

'_Holy shit.'_

Because you just can't just refuse Uchiha Itachi and expect as much as to live.

To be continued

**A/N: **_There, Itachi seemed to have handed Sakura his very first compliment. Does this mean we are slowly delving into ItaSaku-ness? Probably not._

_I personally think it would take a lot, lot more than a compliment...or good looks for Sakura to be smitten. Maybe she would have been so once, but we all can relate to the crazy things you are capable of doing at twelve/thirteen xD_


	5. Guilty Conscience

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 5  
**Guilty Conscience

* * *

Sakura could barely sleep that night, as she kept tossing around. The futon was most uncomfortable and the room had no ventilation system making it difficult to get some sleep in the humid temperature as she kept sweating like a pig.

Finally she threw off the poor excuse of a blanket off her and sat up on the futon. She decided that since the floor was made of stone, perhaps it would help cool her skin if she slept on it.

Unfortunately for her, sleeping on stone takes a lot of getting used to. Although it provided her with coolness as she had expected, it was greatly painful to sleep on solid, hard, stone. Yet she tried for some time to settle into the stone, but the attempt was futile. And at last Sakura had no other option than to get up and pace around the room.

Her pastel hair was glued to her forehead as sweat dripped down her temple. Her skin had become oily and her clothes clung to her body, drenched. She sighed, oh, what she wouldn't give for a bath right then. Her desire to fall asleep was even greater than her desire to take a bath, because the more she stayed on her conscious mind, the more she pondered over things that she didn't appreciate thinking about. Like one particular Uchiha.

Like how good it had felt to be bathed in his warmth, she was surprised that he was so warm for someone so cold blooded. Like how good he had smelt; of sandalwood with an alluring tang of masculinity. Like how elongated his dark lashes were, cascading down his bright red eyes and just touching his pale cheeks. Like how the tiny flecks in his eyes shimmered even in the dark. Like how utterly distracting his lips looked; even pressed into a thin line.

Sakura groaned, she was not just thinking that! She slammed her head against the futon. What the hell was she doing? She was in a situation of life and death and here she was thinking how gorgeous her enemy was.

Sakura twitched; _'I so didn't think that again.'_

Blowing out a huff, she once again began to pace up and down the room. She needed something to take her mind off disturbing thoughts like how attractive a mass murderer was.

"GAH!" She screamed in the pillow.

Here she was trapped in the schemes of the greatest evil master-minds in shinobi history, and instead of being rational and thinking of a way to get herself out of it; she was letting her teenage hormones drive her thoughts. Pathetic.

Earlier Sakura had known for sure that Itachi would kill her. She cursed herself for letting her emotions get hold of her, like always, and almost resulting to a painful death.

She had yelled at Uchiha Itachi and then she had the nerve to mock his actions of killing off his family. And Itachi had threatened her in a very calm facade. But Sakura had been too infatuated with the younger Uchiha brother in her earlier life which seemed ages ago now, to let the dark look that crossed the elder's Uchiha's face slip through her trained eyes.

Sakura didn't know much about how an Uchiha's mind worked, but she was pretty well accustomed to how they wore their emotions, however rare they might be. And watching the expression twist into shadow, she realized that there had been something in her words that had ruffled his calm and impassive facade.

Or perhaps she was very mistaken. Perhaps it was just the light playing tricks on her mind, or perhaps it was her own deluded mind. Because how was it possible for Uchiha Itachi to feel anything? How on earth was it possible for Uchiha Itachi to be affected by some words uttered by someone as her?

She was sure that there was something there on Itachi's expression earlier; he had let slip of his facade and he had realized so and had seemed very much in haste to leave the spot. No one other than her had noticed it, but she swore it had been there.

But then again, this was Uchiha Itachi, very different from Uchiha Sasuke. She couldn't just base Itachi's expressions on Sasuke's subtle displays of it from so many years ago. Itachi was his own person, an Uchiha or not.

And then she had broken down crying in front of her enemies, leaving her bare to their entire wrath in that one moment. She had sobbed there for a long time, all the while letting an Akatsuki hug her to calm her down.

'_What the hell were you thinking?'_ Inner screamed at her.

'_Tobi,'_ she reminded herself; she now refused to think of the orange masked simple minded guy as an enemy; as an Akatsuki. To her, he was Tobi. Not Tobi of the Akatsuki, but just simply Tobi.

He was too nice to be a part of Akatsuki, albeit his small contribution. He just didn't blend in among the intimidating Kisame, the wild Deidara, the cold Uchiha, the blood lusty Hidan or the bizarre Kakuzu. He was just Tobi, she told herself again.

Deciding that Kisame wouldn't mind it, Sakura gathered her towel and rose to get the cold bath that she very well deserved.

She slid open the paper door and waited a heartbeat for anything to happen. When nothing happened, she sighed and stepped out of the doorframe, instantly feeling the prickling feeling that went up her spine. Yet nothing happened. She closed the door behind her and walked down the familiar corridor to the washroom.

She opened the door and entered. The entire place was shrouded in steam, making it hard for her to see properly as her eyes stung. Probably one of her captors had taken a late bath not too long ago, she concluded. Getting used to it soon, she walked over to where the basin was to hang her towel.

She slipped off her headband and was just about to unzip her red vest when her eyes happened to fall on the mirror that was clouded from the steam.

"Aaa-" Her scream was cut off as a pale hand placed itself on her mouth, firm but not forceful.

Onyx met emerald through the mirror.

They stared at each other for some time and when Sakura had finally calmed her heart down and was sure that it wouldn't burst out of her chest, the hand on her mouth loosened but still didn't let go of the grip entirely, as if not completely sure if it would be wise to do so. Memories of their most recent encounter came to her mind.

"U-Uchiha-san," her whisper was muffled by his hand on her mouth. Their eyes were still connected by the mirror, and Sakura's eyes widened when it dawned on her that his had actually been left to revert back to their original dark hues.

He didn't bother replying as his eyes bore into her innocent, widened ones. Then his lashes lowered for a moment, withdrawing his gaze from hers for the first time since she had known of his existence.

Sakura didn't know what made her, but she took advantage of the loosened grip on her and whirled around, her hands going up to caress his temple. His eyes shot up immediately, bleeding blood red. She watched in deep fascination as those dark orbs flecked with grey filled up in with crimson, starting to spin dangerously.

"Your eyes," she whispered. Something shimmered deep in the said eyes making her snatch back her hand as if it had burnt in the contact.

Itachi leaned closer until their faces were inches apart as he peered down at her shocked face. Sakura's mind didn't even work as one of his hands came to rest lightly on the curve of her back and the other rose to her face, his fingers drawing out light strokes on her delicate skin making her eyes shut close as every touch evoked an indescribable sensation deep within her.

His slender fingers descended down, tracing her jaw line and her throat that swallowed at the quivering touch. And then his fingers again rose to caress her cheeks lightly, letting her feel each and every texture of his fingertip until she thought that she had it memorized.

Then Itachi drew back as abruptly as he had leaned in, giving her a full view of his muscled body as her eyes flew open from the lack of his fingers' warmth on her cheeks. Even the curve of her back felt colder now that it had tasted his warmth.

Sakura took him in and for the first time witnessed him for his age. His hair was loose from its tie and framing his pale face, water dripping from its damp ends down his neck to slide off his chest. Her eyes followed a single droplet of water that slipped past his neck and down to his sculpted chest and then down his muscled abs finally dissolving on touch with the towel that was tied around his waist.

He was younger than the creases under his eyes gave him credit for, and without his headband and his dark robe adorned with the treacherous red clouds, he looked every bit of a normal teenage boy as it was possible. In that moment it was hard for Sakura to remember that he was an Akatsuki, and worse, that he was Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura flushed as she realized she had been staring, and for quite some time too. She then meekly looked over up to him to see his eyes were looking down at her face. Suddenly she became aware of the fact that her vest was unzipped half way.

Blushing furiously, she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly self-conscious. But Itachi had the decency not to stray anywhere from her face as he regarded her quietly for a moment longer, making her fidget and shift on her feet.

'_Just what is he staring at?' _Her mind screamed.

But Sakura didn't dare ask. She had questioned him enough for a lifetime... She reminded herself of her mission to keep herself alive for as long as possible.

He didn't say anything, his gaze entangling with hers. Sakura wanted to turn around in embarrassment when he slipped off the towel off his waist, but found it impossible as she found herself drowning too deep into his pools of crimson to look away.

Sakura didn't even notice it when he finished dressing, and used the discarded towel to run it though his dark locks. Sakura could tell by just looking at his hair that it was silky and just how marvelous it would feel to have them curled around her finger...

She was jolted back to reality, her cheeks burning deep red by Itachi's deep, quiet voice, "I will leave you to your bath." As he made his way towards the door, Sakura felt something in her rise.

"U-Uchiha-san!" She called out to him just as he had placed his hand on the knob to turn it. He paused. She began panicking, why had she called out to him?

"I-I..." she fumbled, but found nothing to say. Surely he wouldn't appreciate being called out to for nothing.

"Hn?" He grunted making her swallow her dry throat.

"...Never mind," she mumbled, looking down at the floor. What was it that she had suddenly felt like saying to him? If Itachi thought her conduct to be odd, he didn't show it as he exited without a look back.

Sakura slammed her head down on the stone basin. What had she been thinking? She groaned and then proceeded to take a bath as intended.

As the warm water sank into her bones, calming her nerves, Sakura found herself thinking back to her latest encounter with the elder Uchiha. He reminded her so much of Sasuke, and the thought itself opened the pang of ache in her chest. He looked so much like Sasuke that every moment in his presence sent a pain up her chest despite her constant beating to not let it bother her.

How long had it been since Sasuke had left her lying on a bench? How long since he had closed his eyes to everything other than his wild desire for power to destroy his brother? The very same brother that she found herself thinking about constantly... The very same brother who now had her imprisoned and was tempting her in ways more than one, to betray Konoha like he had done the same to Sasuke all those years ago, ridiculing him of his ways and enticing him to betray Konoha.

She didn't even try to keep back the tears that built up in the corners of her eyes and fell down her pink tinted cheeks freely.

Sakura wondered where Sasuke was right now, if he had the faintest idea that she was in the company of her brother, still pondering over a proposition that her life depended on. For a second, Sakura disregarded all her ties to Konoha, all her obligations as a Leaf shinobi and all her friends' opinions should she really accept the offer. Would Sasuke ever forgive her for helping the likes of Akatsuki?

She frowned, and why should he care? He had never cared about her or respected her choices. What would give him the right to judge her? Hadn't he turned his back on Konoha, on Naruto and her on a whim? Wasn't he the one who had drilled into her mind that bonds were of no importance and that from that fateful day they were parting ways for the best? So what gave him the right to judge her? Was there anything for him to forgive? What did she owe that man?

So why should she care of what he thought of her? She reluctantly accepted the fact that no matter how much she tried, Sasuke would always be in her way trying to hold her back in her mind; questioning her every decisions even if he had no right.

Once again Sakura found a feral rage building up inside her, her bright green eyes turning dark as she struggled to get herself together. She was always like this, letting her emotions get the better of her. It was her own damn fault; she was the one who had let Sasuke get into her mind, letting him hold the authority to question her actions.

'_And now I'm letting the other Uchiha get into my mind too...'_

It hurt her to remember about the younger Uchiha that had taken her heart with him all those years ago. It hurt her more to think that how much similar the two brothers were, now that she was getting to see Itachi for herself, reminding her painfully of the younger version of him. Right now all she wanted was to bury the painful feelings associated with the thoughts of Sasuke in the deepest corner of her heart; she was sick and tired of always getting hurt.

But forgetting Sasuke had never been something her heart or mind was good at, and now all her effort seemed to go to waste as seeing Itachi and being around him only reminded her more of the younger brother as the more she tried not to. And it didn't help that the Uchiha genes ran so deep in Itachi just as much as Sasuke, making her dwindle into a heap of hormones.

It was much later that the ache in her chest was dulled out and much later that Sakura found herself stumbling her way back her room, her eyes red and puffy.

Sasuke was still the last thought on her mind as dreamless sleep came down on her eyes.

Sakura had known that bathing so late into the night would have its toll on her. And right so, because the next morning she found herself walking into the kitchen nursing a constant pattern of sneeze that could very well turn into a nasty cold if went untended.

There seemed to be no one in the vicinity, and she couldn't be gladder. Groaning as her head spun again, she dragged herself over to the fridge and contemplated over what to eat. She saw a half empty carton of orange juice and grabbed it, and also the left-over bowl of soup from the previous night.

Sakura then proceeded to heat the soup over in the stove and pour the orange juice in a glass. When everything was done, she said her prayers as were her habit and began her breakfast. It wasn't long before Tobi made an appearance out of nowhere, making her choke on a mouthful of soup.

"Kunoichi-san!" He exclaimed in obvious panic, approaching her. But she waved her hand at him, indicating that she was alright as she cleared her throat.

Tobi prepared himself a cup of tea and took a seat opposite of her. Sakura didn't feel like looking up at him, since it would only remind her of last night's events. She suppressed a shudder and then reminded herself that the orange masked man sitting in front of her was _only_ Tobi.

She found herself wondering how Tobi had even made it into the Akatsuki. She considered asking him, and then discarded the thought. Tobi would most likely answer her queries, as naive as _she_ thought him to be; but Sakura didn't want to stick her nose to other people's personal matters.

"Is there something bothering Kunoichi-san?" He asked suddenly, breaking through her thoughts. She took the time to look up at him and gave him a small smile, not choosing to answer; she didn't want to lie to him either.

"If Kunoichi-san doesn't want to tell it is okay, but Tobi would like to know what troubles Kunoichi-san so much."

Annoyed at his persistence, Sakura decided to ask him anyways, hoping that it would make him drop the topic, "How is it that someone...as easy-going as you joined the Akatsuki, Tobi-san?"

Tobi froze on his seat, and there was silence for a long time. Sakura took the last few spoonful of her soup, before wiping her mouth with a napkin. Tobi was looking out the kitchen window, lost in his own thoughts. She was glad to see that he didn't pursue the topic.

Finally he rose to leave, "Everything is not what it seems to be," he said quietly, almost as if to himself.

Sakura barely heard him, and when she did she wondered what he meant by his words. There was an aura of melancholy hanging around him and she was inclined to question him further, but bit back her curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat, she remembered the proverb. It was unlikely that Tobi would ever as much as scratch her, but she didn't want to impose on personal matters.

At least he had dropped the matter of her troubles, she acknowledged with a sigh of gratitude.

About half an hour later of Tobi's departure to the backyard, she knew for she could feel his chakra lingering outside, Sakura had employed herself to move around and get familiar with the kitchen. She didn't really care for it, but did it anyways out of sheer boredom.

The three bursts of energy appeared out of nowhere on the grid of her senses, sending alarms ringing in her head. She tensed and shifted on the balls of her feet as silently as she could, and waited. When nothing happened, she extended her senses over the area.

She exhaled loudly as she realized that it was none other than her Akatsuki captors. She had not been familiar with their chakras signatures, and now that she thought about it, they always seemed to have it hidden, hence her wariness. She wondered why they had revealed their chakra now of all times. Bored with her current occupation anyways, she decided to go see what they were doing for herself.

She walked over to the direction where their chakras emitted from.

The hallway was empty, but one end of it seemed to be bathed in sunlight. Taking a deep breath and moving slowly along the cold, stone floor, she neared it with caution. She passed the den. The main door was left ajar, letting in a shock of bright sunlight. Moving again, she went towards the light. Thoughts ran across her mind about being caught near the door and being accused to escaping, until she felt the warmth of the sunlight on her outstretched hand.

It was not her intention to encroach, lest she be in trouble, but the sunlight seemed to beckon her out towards it. Another small step took her out of the sanctuary of the household. The instant she stepped out the door, a shock of chakra washed over her, far more intense than the ones she had experienced while waddling around the threshold. But there was nothing else to stop her.

She hesitated and then took a few tentative steps out on the porch, glancing around. The previous scenery of the thick forest and the pond stretching over the area vanished; only to be replaced by a golden maze of what Sakura assumed was wheat as far as her eyes could make out.

'_Country of Rice,'_ she recognized. Her captors had put up a genjutsu barrier around the place to ensure her ignorance of their location.

Peeking slowly over the doorframe, she could see the four men near the other side of the expanse a long way away. It didn't seem like Itachi cared if she stayed inside or not, as he never gave her a glance back. So she thought it might be a good chance to test the boundaries a little. Besides, she didn't really care as she had no intention of running away, not with three or four Akatsuki hot on her trail. She wouldn't even live to see the end of the rice maze.

As Sakura stood on the threshold, her face felt that tingling warmth of the sun's heat that she was so used to living in Konoha's sunny weather. She breathed deeply and smiled. There was only gold as far as her eyes went. Slowly she began to strode over to where the four men were lounging, enjoying the weather as much as she could. It felt good to breathe in the fresh air after being coped in with fear and loneliness in the cold, dark house for two long days. She noted that this was the first time she felt the slightest bit of being alive since her captivity.

When she approached them, Kisame was the first to speak, "Thought you were going to take the first chance out to escape, Pinky."

Sakura frowned at his intended mockery and replied, "Not everyone is so stupid, Kisame-san."

It was a miracle who she got past around these cold killing machines with so much audacity. Her mouth was going to be the death of her, she could tell, one time or another.

Kisame chuckled and strapped his huge sword on his back. She looked around at the maze that was churned to ash around them, revealing the brown ground underneath. They had been sparring.

She glanced at Tobi who was chasing some kind of a butterfly... she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight. A slight smile tugged on her lips at the man's antics.

Her eyes fell on Itachi who seemed to be lounging back, watching the sparring session of what Sakura assumed was between Kisame and Deidara. She nodded quickly at him in acknowledgement and removed her gaze as soon as his eyes caught hers. After the detour her mind had taken late last night, even a sidelong look at him reminded him more of Sasuke than ever. She gritted her teeth.

She could feel his eyes boring to her back as she turned away to Kisame and eyed his sword. She was curious about the weapon; it didn't strike to her as the ordinary type. Kisame noted her stare and smirked.

"What, taking a fancy on Samehada now?" He asked. Sakura shook her head. Would it be seen as a threat or an attempt to extract information on Akatsuki if she made queries about the shark nin's sword?

"I had seen only another sword as big as that, many years ago."

This seemed to have caught the blue skinned man's attention as he asked, "Where did you see it?" He asked.

Sakura kept her eyes glued on the gigantic sword in the white bindings as she answered, "It belonged to Zabuza Momochi. My team was faced in a battle with him in a mission in the Land of Wave when we were genin."

Kisame broke out in laughter, "That weird kid?"

Sakura looked at him in surprise, "You knew him?"

Kisame nodded and smirked, "Of course. He was a weirdo, a little cracked too."

She raised a brow at him, "Cracked? That's high, coming from you."

Kisame rolled his eyes, "Funny. Anyways, I heard that he made it into the Seven Swordsmen of Mist, and never heard of him again. To think that a miniature version of you with pink hair and all, coming face to face with him-" He again howled in laughter and Sakura felt her cheeks flush.

"He was killed in that mission, by my sensei," she told him, eager to see his reaction to the information, wanting to take a little pleasure at his expense. Such information would have alarmed any other man in a sane mind, but unfortunately Kisame possessed no such thing. He only blinked and then chuckled.

"A fitting end if you ask me," he shrugged. She didn't say anything, just went back to observing his sword.

Kisame sighed, "You are right, Samehada is not just any ordinary blade," he patted the sword fondly making it emit a grilling sound much to Sakura's astonishment. Kisame looked at her expression and smirked, "Samehada here doesn't cut through the flesh," Kisame paused to lick his lips, "It shaves off the flesh."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked back at the sword and felt fear creep up her system.

"It is also capable of detecting and absorbing chakra, as you have noticed it," he eyed her and Sakura now knew how it was that her chakra had always remained drained at the minimum level. Then Kisame laughed, "But only I'm able to wield Samehada; if others try to as much as pick it up, spikes will protrude from its handle. Samehada is loyal to my chakra through and through." Kisame broke out in a maniacal laughter.

Sakura grimaced, what an awful sword Samehada was. She turned to the presence that had walked over to stand beside her.

"Deidara-san," she greeted him, her eyes lowered to the ground. Now she could feel Itachi's eyes return on her back...making her fidget.

Itachi was lounging back on the porch. Kisame walked away towards his partner, leaving Sakura to Deidara. Tobi had finally caught the poor butterfly in his fingers and watched it with rapt attention as it struggled for freedom.

"I believe we haven't been properly introduced, yeah," he said.

"Haruno Sakura," she automatically introduced herself. She hadn't seen it possible for them to call her anything other than 'kunoichi' as they had been calling her all this time, the exception being Kisame whose name for her was worse than 'kunoichi' could ever be.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan," his eyes crinkled at her making her wonder how someone as dangerous as him could ever be as nice. She nodded meekly, concentrating her eyes on her toes.

"I can't help notice that the name sounds very familiar, yeah," his brows were drawn in concentration. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized how Deidara could ever have heard about her...

Akasuna no Sasori.

She found herself dreading of his reaction towards her when he realized that it was her who had a major contribution in Sasori's demise... Surely, he wouldn't blame her. Akatsuki wasn't really known for their attachment to their partners or their unending loyalty to their comrades... So Deidara wouldn't give a damn, would he?

'_And why do you care of whether he gives a damn about it or not?'_ She found herself being reminded by her Inner self. Her emerald eyes narrowed, yes, why should she care of how Deidara felt towards her? He could hate her as much as she hated him, it shouldn't bother her. After all that he has done to Gaara...

'_But Gaara is alive isn't he?'_ A part of her defended and Sakura flinched at her own thoughts. How was it that she could think of forgiving him for the pain that he had inflicted on her friends' lives?

Wasn't Deidara the reason why Gaara had been at death's doors? Wasn't Sasori the reason why they had almost lost Kankuro? Wasn't Itachi the reason why she had her heart broken by Sasuke? Wasn't Akatsuki the reason why Naruto couldn't even breathe without thinking about it first?

"Of course, Senpai knows kunoichi-san from before! Kunoichi-san was the one who defeated Sasori-danna," Tobi had finally chosen to let the butterfly fly away into the sky and decided to join in their conversation at that precise moment much to Sakura's dismay.

Sakura could feel the piercing silence that rode between them with Tobi looking from her face to Deidara's, finally realizing that he had said something that had caused the atmosphere to darken.

Sakura kept her eyes down casted. She willed herself from feeling guilty. She wasn't the one who had done wrong was she? She had only killed Sasori because he had been in her way of her mission to protect her friends... So why should she feel ashamed at the face of Deidara who had done more malice than killing off one enemy? She wouldn't.

Then the realization struck her with a jolt that Sasori too had been protecting what he believed was right! She still remembered how twisted Sasori's thinking had been, wanting to be more a puppet than a human; eternal preservation, immortality, even if only as a wooden vessel. She also remembered how he had calmly asked her if it was something a shinobi should say when she accused him of not knowing what a family was. But now that she thought about it, that was exactly what was expected of most shinobi. They were expected to serve a cause and to put it before their personal interests.

'_He fought for his beliefs and his goals. Is he any different from me when it came to killing? I have killed just many in the name of Konoha, in the name of protecting my friends and my Hokage. When I kill, is it any more justified than theirs?'_

'_Of course it is!'_ Her inner yelled, _'They kill just for the heck of it.'_

'_Do they?'_

There was a burst of energy and Sakura felt herself flying across the paddy field before the explosion-nin was on her. Her eyes widened a faction as she took in his flying hair, his blue eye clouded with a passion to kill her, no doubt. She felt his grip around her throat tighten. She closed her eyes.

How could they be judged for killing, if she were not?

_**"I will soon die. Before that, I'll do something pointless for you...a...reward for defeating me...you wanted to know about Orochimaru, didn't you...?"**_

Even in the face of death Sasori had remained his calm, as he had offered her a reward where she had only brought death to him.

Guilt came crashing down at her as she remembered the last words Sasori had spoken to her. He had given her the very thing that she had then wanted and couldn't get anywhere else...

'_How could everything I believe in be right, if theirs aren't?'_

Sakura couldn't blame the world for wanting the Akatsuki dead and rotting. She couldn't deny the world justice. But it was only fair, if the loyal shinobi like herself, hailing from different countries were despised just as much as the Akatsuki. The line between good and evil in the life as a shinobi was as blurred as it could get.

'_We're all the same; killers, and that's the truth. There is no black, nor white. Only shades of grey.'_

"Deidara don't be childish."

Sakura's eyes snapped open to meet those of Itachi's which were trained on the blonde who had her trapped in a death grip. For a moment she cursed Itachi for interfering, didn't he see that it was only fair that she pay for taking away someone close to Deidara? She would have made anyone who hurt her loved ones, pay.

No one moved, but then Deidara let go of her throat as if his hands had burned. He staggered back, his blue eyes in which she had only seen an endless mirth until now, still in its wild haze.

"Uchiha, step back! I will kill her!" He snarled at Itachi who stood in front of her, in between Deidara and her, as if to...shield her.

"You will do no such thing," Itachi said coolly, staring down at Deidara with his spinning red eyes.

"I will if I want to, yeah!" Deidara yelled before diving towards the Uchiha, throwing a barrage of little clay birds at him.

_BOOM!_

_CRASH!_

Sakura closed her eyes as she felt the bombs go off and a searing burning sensation hit her body. She doubted her screams could be heard over the loud noise of bombs going off all around her.

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was in the elder Uchiha's arms, gripping his robes tightly as he flew across the field towards the house.

"I-Itachi-san?" She asked hesitatingly, not even noticing that it was the first time she used his first name.

Itachi looked down at her with his crimson gaze for a moment, before looking back up again. He came to a stop as he reached the porch of the house where Kisame was calmly standing, observing this entire time.

"Kisame," was all Itachi said, putting her down on her feet, before disappearing.

Sakura wobbled on her feet, only to be caught by the elbow by Kisame. Sakura stiffened and then slowly relaxed when she saw him give her a smirk and shake his head. He seemed to mean no harm.

_BOOM!_

_BANG!_

_CRASH!_

The dreadful noises of Deidara's bombs rang throughout the area. Sakura noted how all the paddy field around them had withered away in the combination of Deidara's bombs and Itachi's trademark Katon.

Fire had caught to the ends of the golden crops, she saw, spreading out rapidly. Tobi appeared out of the thin air like he had in the morning and stood beside Kisame, observing the same sight as them.

And then a few seconds later Itachi too, appeared in the line of her sight. By some miracle, there was no injury on him. But that was to be expected from the prodigy, an Uchiha no less.

"Where is Deidara-san?" She demanded, dreading the very worst. No, she told herself, Itachi couldn't just kill off a comrade. He will have to answer to his Leader for such an impulsive action.

Itachi looked over at her and pinned her for a long time with his gaze, making her want to sink further into Kisame's arms.

Without removing his eyes off hers, he said to Kisame, "Kisame, put out the fire."

The shark man nodded and put her down on her feet before walking away. Fortunately, this time her steps didn't falter.

Itachi was then standing in front of her, mere inches away from her as he whispered into her ear, "Tell me, kunoichi, why are you concerned for Deidara? He is one of us, is he not?"

Tell him? She herself held no answer to that question. She cared for Deidara...just because she cared...there wasn't any justification for it. But then, why not Kisame? Why not Itachi himself?

The thoughts puzzled her to no end and evoked the dull throbbing pain in her head.

Itachi was persistent as he whispered softly, "Tell me."

The gentleness in his voice scared her. She answered back truthfully, her throat dry, "I-I don't know."

Itachi moved back as they heard Kisame approach them, supporting a panting Deidara. A Deidara who was bloodied and as pale as a ghost. Panic coursed through her as she realized that he was losing too much blood too soon.

Before she even knew it she was off the porch, running to meet the pair halfway. Kisame seemed positively astonished as she yanked the wounded blonde from him and helped him sit down on the steps of the porch.

Her hands glowed green before she knew what she was doing. And then after five minutes of extreme concentration and deadly silence, Deidara was healed completely. His blue eyes widened as he looked down at himself. Sakura found it hard to believe that someone with as much authority as his, could be as shocked as he was. He looked simply awed as he examined his hands over and over, clearly unable to believe his eyes.

The silence dragged on, until Sakura was sure that a pin could be heard if dropped. She glanced at all of them; no one said anything as they just looked at her.

Discomfited with the uncomfortable silence, she reverted back her eyes to Deidara and asked softly, "Do you feel any pain anywhere, Deidara-san?"

Deidara shook his head as if he was still in a kind of trance. Sakura nodded and kept her eyes fixed on a stone step of the porch.

"Kunoichi."

She didn't look up despite the urge to do so. She bit her lips. Was Itachi angry with her for healing Deidara when he had clearly meant the wounds to teach the blonde a lesson?

"Since you don't seem to have any qualms about healing Akatsuki anymore, I'll consider it as a yes to our offer."

"Never," she snarled, jumping up to her feet in pure reflex and glaring up at him.

Itachi suddenly stood hovering over her. The shock that she hadn't seen him move scared her and she shrank back, not letting her eyes stray up to meet his under any condition. His face was unreadable.

He didn't seem angry, but she associated him to a stray wolf that comes to sniff your hand calmly before taking a chunk of your leg.

The adrenaline surged through her and she tried to access some chakra, just in case. But there was none after healing Deidara. The fear was getting to her, as well as the pain and she turned away from him, clutching her temple to stop the throbbing pain in there. She trembled against the back of the stone step, her body turned and her back exposed to him. She couldn't take any more of this.

"Is this what you want? Then you win. I'm scared. Just how far will you push me until it all ends?" She whispered, her tone fraught with misery and terror, an odd combination altogether.

Silence rode through the room, making the air thick with intensity until he disappeared. Sakura could feel the tears that threatened to take over. She looked down at Deidara who still looked baffled by the turns of the events. Tobi lingered over them, not knowing what to do. Kisame just stood there, his head cocked, and his small dark eyes shining.

Needing a distraction in order to push back her tears, she frowned and stalked over to Kisame much to his amusement and yanked at his arm and snapped grumpily, "Might as well heal you."

Kisame laughed, "Maa, maa, I didn't even say anything."

"Shut up."

Just how much further did Uchiha Itachi plan on pushing her before she reached her limit?

To be continued

**A/N: **_I'm honestly a bit put off by the response this story is getting so far, but I guess it is because of the over used 'Akatsuki-kidnap-ItaSakuness' cliche. Well, tell you what, I'm trying my best to set it apart from the usual plot line. Hope you are enjoying reading! Review!_


	6. An Unlikely Ally

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright. Thanks.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 6  
**An Unlikely Ally

* * *

Dinner was strained with only Tobi, Kisame and Itachi as her company. Even Tobi's childish antics didn't make it any less awkward. Deidara had chosen to skip the meal, which was not healthy at all; Sakura had made a mental note to find him up after dinner and give him a good piece of her mind.

She didn't have to search for long when she stumbled upon his faint chakra signature. She cautiously climbed over to the steep roof, not wanting her chakra disrupting any other that might be infused with the building.

Deidara was sitting there, his arm resting lightly on his knees as he faced up at the sky, his eyes closed. His blond hair had taken a paler hue under the moon's light as the light breeze played with it. He had taken off his mechanical eye-piece. He looked peaceful.

Sakura's eyes softened at the sight and she turned around to leave as silently as she could, not wanting to disturb his peace.

'_It can wait,'_ she said to herself.

"Came to tell something, yeah?" Deidara spoke, making Sakura sigh in her failure to do the one thing that she was trained to be; silent.

"I don't wish to disturb you, Deidara-san," she said politely, making no movement either to leave, or to join him.

"Why are you here then, yeah?" He asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.

Her mere presence was a disturbance to his tranquility, it seemed. Sakura bit her lips, so he had not forgiven her.

'_And why should he?'_ She thought bitterly. She had killed his comrade and gotten him almost killed at Itachi's hands earlier. It was reasonable that he should hate her.

"You skipped dinner," she simply said.

Deidara didn't respond to it straightaway. He cracked open his ocean blue eyes and looked up at the stars shining in the heaven.

"Is that the reason why you are here, yeah? Scolding me for skipping dinner, yeah?" He asked, his lips pressed into a thin line. If it were any different circumstances, she could tell that he would have chuckled at her antics. He was buoyant like that.

Sakura didn't know how to respond to his words. Choosing her words carefully because she didn't want him pouncing on her and she was certain that this time there would be no Itachi to stop him if her words did rile him up.

"It's not healthy to skip dinner, Deidara-san. You would know that," she said softly.

"Oh right, I forgot. You are a _medic_," he said, the heavy sarcasm in his words made her flinch inwardly. There was a silence and Sakura wondered if she should be leaving him to his own devices before it's too late.

Instead she switched to her medic stance and asked in concern, "Do you feel any pain anywhere, Deidara-san?"

It was because of her that he had been injured. Itachi had struck him only because he had tried to kill her, which was deemed as a threat to the elder Uchiha's mission since they need her skills. And when the need was fulfilled, she knew that they wouldn't hesitate finishing her off.

'_In fact, the way things are going,'_ she thought, sighing, '_they will even take immense pleasure in it.'_

"I'm sorry about Sasori-san," she found herself saying earnestly, "I didn't know him, but my mission, my loyalty has resulted to your loss and I apologize for the pain it has caused you."

There was a minute of stillness, where none of them moved or made a sound and Sakura held her breath, mentally preparing herself for Deidara to pounce on her. Finally Deidara looked around at her, his blue eyes boring into hers.

"I-I know that... that this is the life of a missing-nin," he spoke quietly, as if he was saying it to himself, "But Sasori-danna was different, yeah. Sure we had our quarrels about our sense of what art really was... but he was like a friend I never had, yeah..." He paused abruptly and stood up and the sad look in his eyes hardened, "You wouldn't understand." He said coldly.

Sakura's eyes flashed as she took some steps towards him, "Try me!"

There was a slight pause before a smirk broke out on his lips, "Why do you care to know about my feelings? What is it to you, yeah?"

The question had the same meaning behind it, as the one Itachi had asked just hours ago. And Sakura discovered yet again that just like then, she had no answer to it now.

"Not everything needs a reason, Deidara-san," she shot at him instead, looking him dead in the eye, "You would know all about that wouldn't you?"

"What the hell?" He looked genuinely taken aback.

"I'm pretty sure you killed a thousand lives without a second thought, without any reason, no? Did you look for a reason then? Or did your lust for blood serve as a pretty mitigating one?" Now her voice was raised, her brows draw together, "To you, not everything needs a reason. So is it so unfeasible to accept that someone else may not have any reason behind an action far more insignificant than taking lives of the innocent?"

"...I see, yeah," He didn't try to contradict her words, not there were anything to deny; but simply turned away from her. His easy acceptance of the implication of her words surprised her. After a while he asked her, still not bothering to face her, "Do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

He whirled around, his Akatsuki robe flapping around him. "Killing Sasori-danna?"

Sakura looked at him, his eyes were searching through her, wanting an answer; a closure. A closure that only she could give, but had no right to give. She looked up at the sky, her throat aching at the strain from the wound she received from Deidara's death grip earlier.

"No. I have no reason to regret it. My beliefs were different from his, even different from any of yours. He was in the way of my goal to protect my loved ones. I did exactly what he would have done if he had gotten the chance. I don't regret it."

Deidara just looked at her. Sakura knew it wasn't the answer he had been looking forward to hear. He had perhaps expected her to tremble with fear and say that indeed she regretted her action. But what he needed more was a closure, and a closure wasn't what one wanted to hear, but simply the truth. Only the truth would do.

In a blink of an eye Deidara was standing over her, his warm breath fanning across her face as his hands brushed over her cheeks to trace it down to her neck. His hands paused there as he held her throat within his grasp a little more firmly and tilted it back to examine the vivid red mark contrasted against her pale skin. He frowned as his fingers brushed up and down the sore mark that he had placed it there, making her wince.

"I thought you were a medic, yeah. Why didn't you heal yourself?" He asked frowning down at her.

"I didn't have enough chakra after healing..." she trailed off, "After healing you."

She had healed him for reasons unknown even to her. Perhaps she considered him as a friend from the assistance he had provided the night before? But then again, hadn't he tried to kill her in cold blood minutes before she had healed him? So what had made her do it?

"Don't you have enough chakra now?" He asked.

Sakura nodded and understood that he wanted her to heal herself. Did it bother him so much to see the injury that he had inflicted on her?

"So why are you still not healing it? Did you want to wear it long enough to make me feel guilty?" He scoffed.

Sakura was flabbergasted at such a thought. Was that how he saw it? She immediately shook her head at him, "No, Deidara-san. It was not my intention to make you feel guilty; after all it was because of me that Itachi-san hurt you..."

A dark look crossed Deidara's face as he glared at her for mentioning the very incident. Deidara certainly seemed to not get along with Itachi, now more than ever.

"...Perhaps I'm wearing it out of my own guilt." She finished at length.

Deidara's eyes flickered, "And why is it that you would feel guilty, yeah? Aren't we the ones who are mass-murderers and cold blooded killing machines, yeah?"

"Yes, oh yes," Sakura giggled at this, "Well some things cannot be expressed in words, Deidara-san."

"Stop calling me that, yeah." His words surprised her.

"Call you what?" She asked, not understanding what he meant.

"The suffix, it's annoying, yeah," he looked away from her and to the distance.

Sakura giggled, "Deidara, then."

The blonde nodded in approval.

"So why do you put your hair up in that fashion? It's extremely feminine, you know."

Deidara frowned and ran a hand through his silk strands, "No it isn't, yeah!"

"Oh really? Because I know a girl with the same haircut," Sakura giggled, thinking about her best friend back at home.

Just thinking about Ino, made her remember all about Konoha and her friends. What were they doing right now? Had they finally realized that she was missing? And if they had, Kakashi and Naruto must be having fits by now, she thought guiltily.

"What are you thinking about, yeah?" It made her look over at Deidara who seemed to have thrown off all his previous grudges against her as he gazed at her with a look akin to concern.

"...Home." She knew that he had noticed how her voice went hollow as the dull ache in her chest stirred again.

'_No, no!'_

She pushed back the feelings urging to burst open; she couldn't be giving into her emotions now. She had to be in control of herself and live with the decision that she had made. She had to keep her words, no matter how treacherous they were...

She sighed as she began to ponder what she had done. If only there was some way to let her friends know that she was alright. She supposed they would be imagining all sorts of horrible things happening to her. How could they ever forgive her when they found out the truth, that she had indeed agreed to help them albeit unwillingly?

And how can someone agree to something unwillingly? Was it even possible? Sakura scrunched up her nose; she was going crazy.

Pushing it away, she tried to get her mind focused on the path she had chosen. She'd come too far to stop now. There was no going back now, despite of her desperate wishes to reverse her actions.

Forcing herself to smile, which she knew Deidara didn't buy but at least he didn't question it, she looked up at the sky. It reminded her of Shikamaru and his love for cloud gazing. She giggled at the thoughts of what a hapless romantic he was. But he would be getting married to Temari soon, and she realized with a jolt, that she wouldn't be there to attend it. She sighed, life was indeed cruel.

In an attempt to distract herself from her straying thoughts, she asked Deidara who was equally engrossed in watching the sky as her, "So tell me more about yourself."

"What do you want to know, yeah?" He glanced down at her, a brow arched.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Tell me anything."

"Let's see... I was born in Iwakagure and spent much of my childhood there before turning rouge and making a run for it, yeah."

Sakura raised a delicate pink brow at him, "I could tell as much from seeing you!"

"You could? Then why didn't you say so, yeah?"

"Argh! Are you always this infuriating?" She grumbled and decided to slip into the comfortable silence.

"Did you have friends back in Iwagakure?" She asked suddenly.

Deidara seemed to chew the insides of his mouth, but didn't look down at her as she stared at him expectantly, and finally he sighed closing his eyes, "No, not really. Sasori-danna was the friend that I never had, yeah. He was annoying, alright. But he was also a much better partner than Tobi, even if we argued all the time about art," the blonde muttered. "But Sasori was definitely wrong about intransience being the ultimate beauty of art. Something breathtakingly fleeting; there for an instant and gone in another instant is what I call art, yeah."

There was something akin to sadness in his voice. And it pleased Sakura to see that he still had such emotions buried deep within him, unlike one Uchiha Itachi.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Deidara," she said earnestly and this time Deidara nodded at her, making a huge burden that she didn't even know was there lift. Her heart felt strangely lighter.

She glanced sharply at him to find him watching her with a thoughtful expression. "What?"

"About Sasori-danna," He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, "Don't be so uncomfortable, yeah. I'm cool with it now that you apologized and all." Then to her surprise his blue eyes brightened like a thousand watt bulb as he smiled slightly, "Sasori-danna must be turning in his grave now watching me forgive you for killing him, yeah!"

Sakura took one good look at Deidara who was shaking with laughter, and remembered Itachi's question that had been nagging her for the entire time.

"_**Tell me, kunoichi, why are you concerned for Deidara? He is one of us, is he not?"**_

Why was it that she found herself caring for Deidara? He was a crazy terrorist bomber who killed innocent just for the hang of it. He enjoyed killing and he took pleasure in the sight of havoc and blood. He was an Akatsuki, hunting down Jinchuirikis just like Naruto. He had hurt Gaara and killed him, before Chiyo-san had bought him back to life. He had tried to destroy Suna. He was a killer.

But he also had that side of him; where he smiled down at her and offered her his arm when she wobbled on her feet, and was the one to invite her to have dinner with them, and then had the decency to get formally introduced to her. He was the one who had willingly offered to keep her little escape attempt hushed, he was the one who had joked with her and laughed at her antics. He was the one who now held nothing against her for taking away his only friend...

He reminded her painfully of Naruto and Ino, both of her best friends. His blond hair and blue eyes was a dead ringer for Naruto and Ino, in more ways than possible. Then there was the easy-going nature to him... just like Naruto's was. So what was it? Did she only care for Deidara because he was the closest link right now she could find to her home?

But Itachi was closer to her home than Deidara ever could be. Itachi was _from_ Konoha. And didn't he resemble Sasuke in ways more than Deidara resembled Naruto or Ino? Did that mean that she..._cared_ for Itachi too? No.

So what was it about Deidara that had made her accept his help when she had been struggling on her feet? Or accept his willingness to keep quiet about her escape attempt? Or agree to have dinner with them? Or joke with him? Or going as far as to heal him when she was so adamant about not helping her sworn enemies? Or dropping her guard around him when he had nothing less than hostile intentions towards her? What made her apologize to him for the pain that she had inflicted on him? For all he did, he more than deserved it.

It drew to her eventually. Deidara was the one who had shown her kindness even before she had opened her eyes to witness this hellhole. Visions and voices erupted in her mind.

"_**You better breathe in a lungful of air before your face turns blue like Fish-face, kunoichi, yeah."**_

Kindness.

"_**So that's what Kisame got the bruise from. I gotta hand it to you, yeah."**_

Approval.

"_**Pinky here is a fighter, yeah."**_

Amusement.

"_**Yeah man. From when does Uchiha force himself on women, yeah?"**_

Hilarity.

"_**Why don't you just agree, yeah? You are stuck with us either way."**_

Good humored.

"_**Where do you think you are going, yeah?"**_

Non-judgmental.

"_**Just how striking the blood looks coming down your cute little nose."**_

Creepy.

"_**Give her a break, Fish-face. She was being careless and bumped into me, yeah."**_

Lenient.

"_**It'll be our little secret, yeah."**_

Crazy.

"_**You look like you could do with some food in your system, yeah."**_

Nice.

_**"About Sasori-danna, don't be so uncomfortable, yeah."**_

Understanding.

"_**No, not really. Sasori-danna was the friend that I never had, yeah."**_

Human.

He was the closest to friend that she could claim to have around here, where loneliness and fear and home-sickness was her sole companions.

"You have enough chakra, heal yourself, yeah." Deidara's voice bought her back to the living world.

She blinked stupidly, "Huh?"

"Heal yourself, would you?" He said crossing his hands over his chest, refusing to look at her.

Sakura bit in the smile that threatened to spill, "And why is that? Don't tell me you are feeling guilty as well."

Sakura laughed at how childish he looked glaring at her like that, his nose flared in the process. She raised her hand in surrender and said through her laughter, "Fine, fine. I get it. Deidara-_sama_ never regrets!"

"Hm."

Sakura could only laugh harder at his antics as she bought the healing chakra from her pitiful chakra reserve and concentrated it on the tips of her fingertips. She watched as Deidara turned his full attention to her fingertips and watched it over in awe. His eyes followed her every movement in silence as she bought her hand up her throat and pushed the chakra to fuse with her skin.

The redness on her skin immediately began to disappear and when the chakra flickered out from her hand, there was only unblemished skin left on its wake.

"Impressive, yeah." Deidara remarked once she was done.

Sakura smiled at him, "It's not so impressive if you are good in controlling chakra and once you understand how simple it really is."

Deidara chuckled, "That's not it. The technique can be as simple as anything, that doesn't matter."

She blinked, curious now as to what the blond nin was actually impressed about, and found herself asking, "What do you mean?"

"...The effect of your chakra molded into your healing jutsu is fleeting. It's not a blast, yeah," He broke into a grin that made her insides churn, "But it's a art!"

Sakura thought she understood him, and laughed at the thought. Deidara gave her a side-long look, "What is it, yeah?"

Sakura shook her head as she laughed softly again, "Just how funny it seems that I actually understood your perception," she could feel his eyes on her as she closed her eyes, "Even yesterday I was thinking how I will never be able to understand the thoughts of people such as yourself. It is," she contemplated over the right word, "_strange_ how I do understand it if I think about it twice."

He nodded, understanding the meaning behind her words.

"Do you want to learn how it works?"

He blinked, "How what works, yeah?"

"The medical jutsu...?"

This time Deidara broke out laughing and Sakura suddenly realized how welcomed his laughter felt. She found herself smiling softly at him as he howled with laughter, not failing to remind her sharply about home and Naruto.

At last when Deidara sat up straight, brushing the tears of his lashes, "Oh, Sakura-chan! Fish-face was right, you are one of a kind, yeah!" He exclaimed.

Sakura arched a brow, "Why? What's so amusing about what I said?"

He looked at her incredulously, "Here you are offering to teach a killer how to _heal_! And you ask what's so amusing, yeah?"

And then he broke out laughing once again. Sakura crossed her hands over her chest and stuck up her nose in the air, "Hmph!"

But he was right; it did seem very bizarre to teach a killer how to heal. She really should think twice before voicing her words!

'_It is all very ironic, no?'_ She thought bitterly to herself.

"Sasori must have been so mad that he was defeated by someone so young," he suddenly mused looking at her with an open intensity that made her fidget.

"But I had help, from Chiyo-baa-san," she reminded him, fiddling with her fingers like Hinata did all the time.

"Still. Sasori was one of the very best. He would have wanted you to be proud of it, yeah."

She thought of the retort building up in her mouth, that she didn't care about what Sasori wanted or didn't want her to be. Feeling rather uncomfortable now, she muttered, "I'm not that good. I had help, that's all."

He gave her an exasperated look. "Akatsuki only takes in the best, yeah."

"Akatsuki is not recruiting me!" Her tone was sharp and made Deidara blink twice before flashing a bitter smile.

Sakura frowned and repeated her words under her breathe, "Akatsuki is not recruiting me. I am merely...I-I..." she trailed off. Yes, what exactly was she doing with the Akatsuki?

"Look at me," Deidara's voice was mild and she easily found herself following his direction and met his cerulean eyes, "No one is judging you here, yeah."

She swallowed and then nodded, not knowing what else to say. It was hard for her to accept that she would be helping the cause of Akatsuki...It just didn't suit her. But she was helping them, right; somehow or another?

'_Willingly or unwillingly?'_

In order to lighten the mood and even more so to distract herself from getting lost into dark thoughts that would surely reduce her into sobbing, she began as lightly as her grief would allow, "So, you use those mouths on your palms to mold your clays into birds, huh?"

He bought forward his hand and unclenched them, palm facing upwards to reveal a smiling mouth. It was the first time she had seen it close up. Her medical side kicked in as she stared at the mouth with interest. She was almost twitching to ask him to let her inspect it.

He must have sensed it, because he grinned, "You want to take a closer look at it, yeah?"

She nodded. But to her dismay, his grin widened and he curled his fingers into a fist, blocking the mouth from her sight. "Now why should I show you, yeah?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Why _won't_ you show me?"

"Because it's my technique, and it's just stupid to let just anyone take a good look at it," he declared rather haughtily.

"I'm not just _anyone_!"

Deidara looked very amused at her words, and it began to register on her mind what her words really meant. She huffed, "Fine. The next time you're dying, I won't bother patching you up."

This made Deidara laugh and at length he gave up, brushing a tear off his lashes, "Fine, you can see it, yeah."

Just as Sakura pulled his hand to her in keen interest, her green eyes glowing with enthusiasm for the first time in a while, Deidara suddenly seemed to freeze making her ears perk up immediately. Unknowingly she lowered her voice to a whisper and asked, "What is it?"

Deidara pressed his finger to his lips as a signal to keep quiet and she did as he said. He was putting his mechanical eye-piece back on as he rose to his feet. Sakura followed his suit, careful to be silent. Deidara jumped down the roof, sliding and them landing on the ground noiselessly and Sakura followed his suit. Immediately her eyes fell on the two other shadows standing on the vicinity of the porch. Kisame and Itachi.

"Where is Tobi, yeah?" Deidara asked the Mist-nin, not even sparing a glance at the Uchiha.

Kisame regarded Sakura with his dark, soulless eyes which seemed to be lightened in a way that she had never witnessed it. Then a small smirk curled at the corner of his lips and he snapped his attention back at the blond male, "He had gone scouting the area. We have company." Kisame smacked his lips in what Sakura realized with disgust, was anticipation.

And then the most terrible thought occurred to her; what if it was her comrades coming to rescue her, although it was unlikely given the small amount of time that had transpired in between? But the dread that pooled in her stomach and clenched in a painful knot made her head spin. Logic flew out of the window.

"Who is it? What country?" She found her voice strange and raspy. Has Naruto and Kakashi and the others come for her? Was she finally going to be saved from this mess and relieved of the burden that had been thrust upon her by the likes of the Akatsuki?

All three pair of eyes turned to her, observing her, before Kisame said, "We haven't confirmed yet, but you had better keep your hopes to yourself," and then he had the nerve to flash her a grin, showing off his pointy rows of teeth.

She felt like she would get sick with all the suspense.

This time Itachi spoke to her, "Whatever their origins maybe, they will not be spared, kunoichi." His vivid red eyes were even more beautiful in the contrast of the dark night as it shone clearly into her mind, "Do you understand?"

No, she didn't understand, she wanted to yell back at him. But fear for her life, for the lives of the shinobi, possibly her own comrades, rendered her voice useless. All she could do was swallow down the bile that threatened to rise up her throat.

For the next few minutes no one moved, and Sakura was rooted to the spot, her ears perked up for any kind of noise. But there was none. And just as she was about to let the air escape from her lungs, a howl of a dog, or a fox, or a man, she didn't dare think, sounded from far away.

"Deidara, remain here with the kunoichi." Itachi's instruction was firm and before Deidara could open his mouth to protest, he and his aquatic partner had disappeared in the dark of the night. All kinds of horrible thoughts rose to her mind and she found herself on her knees on the ground, her head buried in her arms.

Deidara stooped down to her and said softly, "Don't worry. For all you know, they aren't Leaf."

She raised her head, meeting his eyes with her widened emerald ones where panic lurked evidently and she whispered fervently, "And what if they are Leaf?"

Her answer was in silence.

Sakura's mind whirled and she felt sick to her stomach. The thought of Itachi or Kisame or Tobi ripping apart one of her comrades' head made bile rise up her mouth. She gagged. Deidara's hands immediately rose to support her back as she dipped her head and threw up everything that she had eaten.

When she raised her head with a determination burning deep inside her and met Deidara's gaze, there was only so much gentleness in them. She gulped.

How could she do this to him when he showed her kindness after kindness? Steeling herself, she admonished herself for letting emotions get a hold of her again in the face of an _obvious_ enemy. She had to do what she had to do. Her life was back in Konoha with her loved ones, not with Deidara or this criminal organization.

Forcing back the tears in her eyes, she took in a couple of deep breathes. Deidara noticing the tears on her lashes, brushed them away, "What is it, yeah?" He was gentle in taking her body in his arms as he wrapped his arms around her, tracing soothing strokes on her back. He brought his mouth to her ears, his warm breath tingling in her ears as she closed her eyes in guilt and trembled with silent sobs.

"Shsssh, don't cry. Everything will be alright, yeah," he whispered softly.

Sakura opened her eyes, determination shining in her watery orbs. She had to what she had to do. This was her only chance. Pushing back her sobs, she fell limp in his arms, letting his warmth engulf her. Raising her hand behind him, she bit her lips. He would never see the blow coming if she was quick enough.

"I'm sorry, Deidara," was the last words Deidara heard escape the pinkette's mouth before a sharp pain hit the nerve on his neck and he slumped down before anything registered in his mind.

Sakura looked down at the dark pile of what was Deidara at her feet. She couldn't understand the continuous tear that poured down her cheeks despite her adamant wishes to stop them. Stooping to check his pulse, she concluded in satisfaction that she had just knocked him out as intended and not killed him by hitting the wrong nerve in her rush. Tucking his long blonde back off his face, Sakura whispered a soft goodbye in his ears and mentally apologized to him for all the wrongs she has ever done to him.

Deciding it was not wise to waste any more time, lest she was intercepted; she rose and began to walk away from him, from the house that had imprisoned her for the last three days.

The urge to glance back was overwhelming, but the determination to escape was greater. Crouching low to let the long gold crops hide her from the substantial view, she performed the necessary seal to hide the pitiful amount of chakra she had conserved within her. The little amount of chakra wouldn't serve her very well, instead would draw attention to her and get her into more trouble than it was worth.

Creating two clones, that was as much as she could afford without passing out from chakra exhaustion, she silently motioned them to spread out in different directions. The faint sounds of battles were coming from the direction of far South. So she sent one of her clone to the East and one to the West and she herself took the route to the North.

She had never been in the vicinity of Rice Country before and therefore didn't have the first clue as to where she was or where she could go. As far as she could assume was that they were in the county side, the deserted part mind you, because Akatsuki would definitely keep away from the more populated part of the Country. And that was bad news for her, because the further she was away from people, the more trouble she could fall into. At least among people she could try to blend in, perhaps with a simple henge.

So Sakura expanded her senses over the area, making a mental map of the place, but in vain. There was nothing there except fields after fields for miles all around. She cursed herself and then the Akatsuki.

She crouched low and ran as fast as her legs would carry her without the aid of chakra for hours. The battle cries from the South had long since faded. She wondered if it was indeed Leaf nin that the Akatsuki were fighting against, and wondered if they had given the Akatsuki a hard time or had the rouges killed them without a blink of an eye. She wondered if Deidara had woken up by now and was in a frenzy seeing her missing. She wondered if the others had returned by now and found her missing and if Itachi had taken it as his responsibility to punish Deidara. She cringed at the thought, it sounded just like something the elder Uchiha would do. She mentally apologized to Deidara for the trouble she had surely gotten him into again.

Vaguely she wondered that although she had left behind the Akatsuki, if her heart would ever leave the naive Tobi, or the easy-going Deidara, or the brutish Kisame, or even the dark Uchiha. She doubted she could ever forget the compassion in Tobi, or the friend in Deidara. Maybe she would try to forget the cruelty in Kisame's looks, but never could forget the gleam in them whenever he regarded her, as if he was infinitely amused by her. And Itachi, he seemed to take her breath away every time he looked at her with his intense eyes bleeding red in all its deadliness. Could she ever forget the fear, the pounding heart, the _thrill_ that his mere look drilled into her? She thought not.

Eventually, when she decided that she had put enough distance between her and her captors behind, she slowed her sprint and dropped her pace to a walk. She could feel the exhaustion creeping up to her, but knew that she could not risk to rest now, for Akatsuki could catch up to her anytime now.

She didn't have any bag on her; the tiny bag-pack she had from her mission that seemed like ages ago, had been left behind in fear that the slightest waste of time could result to her missing her only chance of escaping. And now she found herself wishing that she had bought it with her as she licked her parched lips and swallowed to wet her dry, aching throat. She was hungry even. She groaned.

Dawn was just breaking over the horizon, the night sky turning lighter bit by bit. The night had been passed with Sakura making a fair amount of progress and there was yet no sign of any black cloaks dotted with red clouds. It was a good sign. She sighed and decided that it was safe to rest for a little while.

She sat down, having nothing to rest her back; she flexed her muscles and moaned as the knots came loose. With nothing else to do, she thought it was time to check on her clones and the progress they had made. Closing her eyes she poured the faintest bit of chakra in her hands and did the seals.

Sakura was shocked when she opened her eyes through one of her clones that she had sent East. There stood Kisame, with a sadistic grin etched on his gray lips eyeing her clone in pure amusement. He barked out a laugh and then bought up his sword and dashed it towards her. Sakura just had the time to draw back from her clone's mind as she felt a tug within her signaling that Kisame had put an end to it.

Gritting her teeth she proceeded to check on the clone she sent to the West and wasn't really surprised to see Deidara standing in front of her, his brows pulled into a frown, his arms crossed over his chest as he sulked making him look like a spoiled kid. She noted that he wasn't harmed and sighed in content knowing that Itachi had not harmed him as she had feared. That was the only good news about the situation. She drew back from the mind of the clone, not wishing to witness what Deidara might do to her clone. He looked pretty pissed.

If Kisame had intercepted her clone in the East and Deidara at the West, that left Tobi and Itachi to go to the North and South. She closed her eyes and with a sinking feeling of defeat, Sakura knew who it would be that came for her even before she saw his shadow looming over her.

"Uchiha-san," she heaved a sigh, her heart suddenly felt very heavy.

"Hn."

"Do I have to go back?" She asked feebly, letting the exhaustion finally taking a hold over her, as the last strings of determination drained away from her mind, and the adrenaline that she had been acting on vanished from her system.

"Hn."

She closed her eyes, letting the exhaustion creep up to veins.

"What does that even mean, yes or no?" She found herself asking in a whisper, welcoming the darkness that came over her with open arms.

"Hn."

"Is Deidara angry with me?" She asked, her eyes suddenly flying open against her body's painful protests.

"Hn."

Sakura sighed, letting her eyes drop again as she found the action difficult in her present condition. She smiled bitterly at the thought of freedom that seemed to very eager to escape her, as she fell back on the soft bed of gold. She felt her eyelids getting heavier by the second and lowered them.

Before her eyes could completely close off from the world, she hazily saw Itachi leaning down over her. His dark robes cascading over her, giving her a taste of the warmth that only radiated off him, she felt his lips gaze softly against her ears sending a fuzzily numb sensation throughout her body.

"And don't you want to know if _I_ am angry with you?"

"..."

Uchiha Itachi was very angry with her; she had seen it in those beautiful eyes of his.

To be continued

**A/N: **_Thanks a million for the reviews you guys left last chapter! I have exams going on, so haven't gotten the time to read over this chapter, but posted it anyways. I'll tie up the loose ends later on. Anyways, enjoyed? Review!_


	7. Uncertainity

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright. Thanks.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 7**  
Uncertainty

* * *

Anger was an emotion that all shinobis retained whether they saw it fit to feel love and compassion or not. When Sakura opened her eyes next, she saw that Uchiha Itachi was no different in this matter. Well, perhaps he didn't _look_ it, but Sakura could feel every bit of it radiating off the atmosphere around them.

"_**And don't you want to know if I am angry with you?"**_

But the instant her eyes opened and took in the familiar room that she finally accepted as hers, the door to her room was slid open with a silent accuracy that her captors seemed to have a penchant for. She knew that the Uchiha was angry with her whether he showed it or not. Sakura gulped.

Sakura didn't dare raise her gaze from the floor and within seconds she found the hem of an Akatsuki robe in the line of her sight as he came to stand before her by her futon. She knew who it was that stood over her, watching her every move with an appalling silence. She bit her lips and wondered if she should start apologizing in hopes that he would see it fit to give her another chance. But her sense of pride was overriding and there was no way she would degrade herself by begging for her life to someone who would most likely disregard it as he saw fit. So she chose to remain silent.

Just when Sakura was driven mad by the silence to the point to initiating a conversation, Itachi spoke up in all his coldness, "Kunoichi."

She felt an involuntary shiver run along her back, whether it was the tone he used or merely his velvety voice that made her react in such a way she wasn't very sure. However, she didn't dare raise her eyes to his in fear that it could bring her death much more swiftly, and just tilted her head in a sign that she was listening and he could proceed with his words.

But apparently it wouldn't do. Since her gaze was strictly limited to the lower portion of his body, she didn't see his hand shot up. The feather light touch on her cheek made her jolt up as all the muscles in her body tensed in anticipation. His hands didn't seem to make any attempt to take away her life as she had assumed, instead it continued the soft caress for a while making her shut her eyes at the strange sensation that his touch seemed to have on her.

She kept her eyes closed as his fingers went downwards and tracing her jaw line, it came to a rest below her chin as he gently dipped her head back to bring her eyes to meet his. But Sakura kept her eyes shut tightly and it was when something warm fanned across her face, she cracked open her eyes in astonishment only to see Itachi's face peering into her, only inches away from hers.

She flushed immediately despite realizing the situation was very dire and one mistake could lead to her very death, if Itachi wasn't already contemplating on the best way to kill her already. The proximity of their faces was alarming, all the while indicating how much wrath she had brought upon her by her thoughtlessness. Itachi was yet to let go of his grip on her chin, but he didn't show any sign of letting go as he firmly kept her locked in place. He didn't need to do so because Sakura was pretty sure she was captivated anyways by the swirling flecks of crimson burning within his eyes. Oh, how breathe taking they were... How had she failed to notice its beauty in Kakashi's or Sasuke's eyes, she didn't know.

'_Perhaps it has more to do with the man,'_ her inner self snickered and Sakura felt nothing other than the strong desire to pound her.

No, she was certain that she wasn't...attracted to the elder Uchiha. How can she be? Sure, he was handsome, more than she had witnessed in any other man before. Sure, she seemed to drown into the depths of his unfathomable pools of blood every time she peered into them. Sure, his touches did weird things to her and reached the parts of her body that she didn't even know was reachable. Sure, he _allured_ her with the darkness and coldness that surrounded him and seemed to arouse a strange feeling of excitement deep within her. But surely, she wasn't attracted to him. She couldn't be!

She wanted to slam her head up against the wall for thinking of such thoughts. He was the hunter and she was the prey; there was hardly anything to be attracted to. But Sakura knew very well that it was just like she had done with Sasuke; once again she had let another Uchiha get into her mind.

Just as she lowered her lashes as sadness filled into her eyes, the pressure on her chin increased making her eyes shot wide open. Itachi didn't look like the proximity affected him in the slightest bit. And why should it? He was a heartless killer. Sakura didn't think Uchiha Itachi was capable of possessing emotions. Whereas she was a mediocre kunoichi with little experience, who always acted on impulse and was driven by raw emotions rather than her common sense or shinobi regulations. And she just proved herself to be stupid enough to be attracted to something as dark as Itachi.

"That was foolish of you. I didn't think you would be capable of such indiscretion." Even if he was angry, which he certainly was, his voice remained indifferent. Yet something in the way he pronounced the words hit her, making her feel ashamed.

Now that she thought about it, it really seemed very stupid of her. What had she been thinking? She couldn't have crossed Rice Country even if Itachi had let her to. There had been just too many flaws in her plan.

She frowned a little. Why should she be feeling ashamed of her behavior? She had done nothing wrong. If anything Akatsuki were the ones who should be feeling ashamed of themselves, they were the ones who had her in captive against her will.

She lowered her eyes, as she remembered the little taste of freedom that she had felt in the short period of time of her escape attempt, if you could call it that. She just missed her friends and family and wanted nothing more than to go back home.

"I just want to go..." she said quietly, unable to meet Itachi's gaze. Her voice was hollow and melancholy, laced with a passionate longing. Even as she looked down, the Uchiha's gaze didn't falter.

"Do you wish to leave so much?" He finally asked in his smooth, velvety voice. Her eyes snapped up at them before looking away sideways and nodding slowly. Because she now had turned away her head sideways, Itachi's warm breath tingled on the pane of her throat, making her pulse skip much to her frustration.

"What about Deidara whom you seem to care for so much?" He asked. She thought she saw a flicker of something pass through his killer eyes but of course she couldn't be sure. It was probably her wishful wish to see some emotions playing out on the unreadable face of the elder Uchiha. And what exactly was she wishing to witness? That he would be angry? Jealous? Sakura laughed at her own foolishness.

"I don't think Deidara-san would care if I left..." she whispered, unable to control the sadness that washed over her as she thought of what her 'friend' might think of her now that she rewarded all his kindness by knocking him out. Of course he wouldn't care if she left. He wasn't a moron who got attached to just anyone that he randomly met.

'_He isn't me!'_ She spat inwardly.

"He would most likely be glad to get rid of me." She had seen Deidara glaring at her clone, he had looked very pissed. Suddenly she wanted Itachi to kill her right then and there, not knowing how to face Deidara later.

Itachi seemed to be amused as a smirk tugged at his ever pressed lips, drawing her attention to his mouth. How could he find amusement in her dismay? He truly was heartless.

"Deidara had been foolish; perhaps he has learned his lesson to not let his guard down so easily next time."

She nodded at his words. But was it simply Deidara's fault for trusting her? Could her actions really be justified so simply? She didn't think so. Sighing, she decided she would face Deidara when it came to it.

"Is he mad at me?" She asked meekly, in fear of hearing the answer that she was surely to hear. A second later, seeing the quirk in Itachi's lips stretch, she realized much to her horror that she should be more afraid of the clan killer standing before her, breathing down on her face, his hands so close to her neck, than trying to discern about how mad Deidara would be with her for her actions.

The smirk on Itachi's lips widened at some thought as he peered down at her with his unblinking Sharringan eyes that could take her life even before she could bat an eyelid.

"Are you not curious to know if _I _am mad?" His eyes flashed.

Not knowing what to say, she tried to hide the obvious fear trickling along her body and glowering in her green eyes. Of course, she knew he was mad at her; there could be no question about it. But she didn't want him to be so angry with her; she just wanted him to understand how much she longed to return to her own homeland. She was sick and tired of this confinement. She didn't want to betray everything she had ever known by helping them. She just wanted him to understand that.

"It seems like it doesn't concern you whether I am angry with you or not," he said when she didn't reply. Driven by the instinct of self- preservation in such a dangerous world, Itachi's anger mattered to her more than Deidara's ever could, because it was the Uchiha's opinion of her that would decide whether she would live to breathe the next minute or not.

"I...I don't wa-want you to be angry with me," she managed to say in an audible tone while swallowing down her fear.

There was a long pause while Itachi just observed her, and then finally a small sound escaped his lips. "Don't you?"

Sakura stiffened in his grip as the sound registered in her mind. Uchiha Itachi had just freaking chuckled...if you could call it that. She was shocked; the thought that Itachi chuckled, or even _could_ chuckle never crossed her mind before. And even if she did in her darkest nightmares, it was always a menacing, maniacal laughter that escaped his ghost of a lip while he hovered over the corpse of one of her loved ones. For a moment the prospect that someone was impersonating Itachi as a joke came to her mind, but she didn't think anyone would dare. His chuckle was the most welcoming and musical sound she had heard in the entire day.

Biting her lips in apprehension she risked looking up into his eyes while praying that he wouldn't kill her for merely witnessing his chuckle that, she suspected, had slipped up from his indifferent facade that he must have put a lot of effort in creating and had been donning for years. Fear made her rigid in his grasp as he coolly stared down at her apprehensive green pools of innocence, the Uchiha smirk set on his lips.

"I love your fear, kunoichi," His voice became softer, but no less deadly, "But if you want to avoid getting me angry then you should stop acting upon your foolish impulses. Escaping is impossible, you should learn to accept that before it is too late. The next time you prove yourself foolish enough to pull something like this off, I will certainly not be so considerate."

And then just as she had found herself in his grip, she found him standing at the other side of the room, walking towards the door. His steps were steady and sure and he didn't even spare a glance back at her as she dropped back on the futon, her legs to weak to keep standing without Itachi's brace. She ached for the warmth that Itachi had engulfed her in while he stood there moments before.

"I thought I am here because you need me!" She found her voice that wasn't there even a moment before, shouting at his back.

Itachi didn't look back; his hand merely paused on the plane of the door. Even if Sakura couldn't see it because he was turned away from her, she knew that had he been looking at her, she would have seen those crimson eyes flash dangerously.

"Don't mistake us for our patience. You will easily be deemed worthless the moment you prove yourself to be less than useful. Do you understand, kunoichi?" The coldness in his voice made her shudder.

He was right. They were cold blooded killers who wouldn't even hesitate to kill her if she gave them more trouble than she was worth. Itachi was gone as noiselessly as he had entered. The fear shook through her body again.

But didn't he understand that no matter how much her subconscious mind wanted to remain here along with them, she had to try to get away, even if it was just to satisfy her conscious mind? She had her obligations.

Sakura leaned back to rest her head against the wall by the bed. She was getting sick and tired of all these confusing thoughts muddling up in her mind, nagging to be sorted out but to none of which Sakura seemed to find any answer.

Why won't Naruto and Kakashi just hurry up?

::: ::: :::

Sakura was still coped up in her small room, looking out the window and trying to find whatever little comfort the outer scenery could give her without painfully reminding of her desire to taste freedom once again. Once she got tired of watching tedious gold fields swaying in the same light breeze, she moved on to trying to concentrate on the number of medical scrolls that she was allowed to retain in her possession. But of course, Sakura being Sakura, already had them memorized before so re-reading them was pretty much a dull task.

When she had decided that she had had enough of the medical scrolls that held interest to her, she threw them across the room in frustration. She wanted a bath to clean up from her little escape event, but didn't dare to leave her room in dreads of meeting a certain Akatsuki bomb artist. She couldn't stop being ashamed of herself for tricking him like she had done. It didn't feel right. Deidara would probably plunge for the kill as soon as he laid his eyes on her. She had even lost her appetite in her fear of the consequences of stumbling upon Deidara.

She sighed and turned in the bed, finally finding a considerably comfortable position lying on her back. She stared up at the dreary stone ceiling above in sheer boredom. If only there was something to do...

The door to her room was shoved open, making her jerk up on the bed in a defensive crouch. Kisame looked anxious when he poked in his head.

"Oh, it is just you!" She exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest where her heart pounded erratically.

Kisame raised a brow at her, "Who were you expecting? Of course, it is me."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, mentally admonishing herself for being stupid enough to think it was Deidara, hence, the combat stance.

"Never mind that," Kisame waved his hand as he told her, "Pack up. We are leaving. You have fifteen minutes to come down."

Sakura was a bit astonished, she didn't know that they would be leaving this house and travelling to someplace else, but didn't get the chance to even ask. She watched as Kisame hurried off, questions ready to roll off at the tip of her tongue.

She quickly brought up her small rucksack from underneath the bed and began tossing all her possessions in it. She folded her spare set of clothes and placed them in carefully, as it was the only other clothes she had she didn't want to ruin them unnecessarily. Next she walked over where she had thrown the medical scrolls and picked them up, rolling them and tossing them in the bag. Her weapons were in her captors' possession, so she had nothing more to pack.

With five minutes to spare, Sakura slowly exited her room, feeling the faint hum of chakra wash over her once again. She dragged her feet across the hall and down the stone stairs and hesitated in the corridor before walking towards the kitchen, figuring that it would be where the others would be.

Kisame was there waiting for her and seemingly finishing up the last touches to the kitchen so that it looked like they hadn't been there in the first place, Sakura supposed. But that would fail terribly if someone did come to check, because Sakura hadn't bothered to organize her own room. Well, she didn't care anyways.

Kisame strode over to her as soon as she made her presence known and together they walked past the den and towards the door. The door was again left ajar, giving Sakura a glimpse of the sunlight filtering in.

Kisame paused at the door effectively blocking her path and looked down at her with a smirk. Sakura saw that he still looked a bit anxious, but she didn't ask.

"Pinky, be careful now. Don't try anything funny again. We don't like to have our patience tried." He flashed a grin at her, showing off his pointed rows of teeth and making her shudder at the sight. He chuckled at her reaction that she didn't bother to hide.

Finally the shark-man stepped away and pushing the door, exited the house. Sakura didn't look back at the house where she had spent the last three days of her life in misery. She just wanted to get out of here and breathe in the fresh air a bit before she tempted one of the nuke-nins that she kept company to kill her.

A wave of strong chakra washed over her like it had the last time she had crossed the boundary of the building. Immediately she felt the warmth of the sun on her place and it was welcomed feeling in contrast to the dark and gloomy environment inside the house.

Tobi greeted her in his loud voice as soon as she stepped out. Itachi and Deidara were standing a little way away, but neither gave any inclination to her presence as she joined them trying to keep pace with Kisame's long legs.

"Your legs are too short, kunoichi," Kisame laughed at her expense.

"It is yours which are abnormal here," she retorted back with a cold edge to her voice.

She didn't feel like being friendly to them anymore. They were her captors and she their hostage. There was nothing friendly about the situation, she kept telling herself, and she wouldn't be stupid enough to delude herself by thinking so again. Once had caused her more misery than it was worth.

If Deidara had looked pissed in the telepathy through her clone, his face of indifference gave away nothing now. He was choosing to avoid her, she could tell by his refusal to meet her eyes.

'_Well, he could suit himself.'_

Looking towards Kisame as they walked up to the others, she asked, "Why are we leaving so suddenly?"

"Some of the hunter-nins from last night slipped past and seems to have informed another group of our location so we are relocating."

With a jolt Sakura remembered about the disturbance from the previous night. She had forgotten all about it owing to her exhausted mind from her little episode and with her mind too bewitched by her encounter with Itachi in the morning. Ashamed by her subtlety when it came to her loved ones and with a sinking feeling she asked feebly, "Which country were they from?"

Kisame looked back at her with a gleam in his eyes and chuckled, "Why, they were from Fire."

Sakura abruptly stopped in her tracks, her whole world whirling. Kisame had the nerve to howl in laughter, but Sakura didn't have the strength in her to bring herself to pounce on him for his disrespect.

"Haha!" Kisame pointed at her face, "You should see the look on your face, haha! Chill, I was just kidding. It was Mist."

Sakura kept still as Kisame laughed some more, blood rushing to her head. She didn't believe him. Glaring at him, she darted past him running up to the Uchiha waiting up head. Itachi wouldn't lie to her. Itachi looked around at her just as she came up to him, breathing heavily she asked, "Wh-what country?"

The Uchiha merely arched a perfect brow. She explained hurriedly, "The hunter-nins from last night... Which country were they from?"

Itachi just looked at her, and then after what seemed like an eternity to her, he said smoothly, "I thought I made it clear that whatever their identity may be, their lives would not be spared."

Something inside her snapped, "Just tell me which country they were from, damnit!"

"Manners, kunoichi." There was something in his voice and something far more dangerous in his eyes which made her throat go dry. Swallowing, she forced herself to rephrase her query in a polite manner.

"Mist," he grunted, much to her relief. At the moment she felt like she could kiss Itachi or even Kisame, who had finally caught up to them and was still chuckling. She glared at the blue skinned man but was too happy to say anything to rebuke him.

"Haha, I had you there, Pinky," he rubbed it on her face. But Sakura didn't say anything, she was too glad to even feel guilt at being happy at the loss of the Mist nins who too had family and loved ones out there who were probably mourning at the very moment while she rejoiced the news that they were not Fire shinobi.

"Are you done with all this gibberish, yeah?" Deidara sounded annoyed, but Sakura noticed that he didn't turn to face them instead he looked up ahead, his straw head pulled over his light locks which hid his face from her sight. She lowered her eyes, how was she ever going to gain back Deidara's trust?

She was startled by her train of thoughts. Why did she even need to gain an _Akatsuki's_ trust for anyways? This was getting confusing by the minute. Her loyalties were to Konoha and Konoha only, damn it! Why did she keep forgetting that and keep thinking of her enemies as friends? Sakura decided it was time to push back all her this perplexing thoughts that seemed to be messing with her mind and lock them at the back of her head once and for all. Unfortunately it was easier said than done.

Itachi spoke this time, his voice blatant as always, "It seems like the hunter-nins are trying to track us down so we will be relocating to a village in the northern territory of Wind Country. Kisame and I will be in the front, the kunoichi in the middle with Deidara and Tobi as back guard."

When no one spoke, Itachi turned away and his fingers went through a series of seal that were too fast for Sakura to follow.

"Kai."

Sakura was startled as her vision of the beautiful gold fields and summer breeze faltered slightly before falling apart to reveal the inky night sky above. It was pelting down heavily.

"A-All this time...?" She was stunned. The facade of the rice fields had just been a part of the layered genjutsu that undoubtedly Itachi had come up with. She couldn't believe that she had not once realized it in spite of her knack for genjutsu. This just proved how superficial she was, not even suspecting enough to check her environment as she had escaped. No wonder he had caught her so effortlessly. She deserved to be caught.

Kisame laughed, "Yeah, you pretty much ran around in circles the whole time, Pinky. We knew the instant you stepped down that porch."

She couldn't even bring herself to glare at the shark-man who laughed at her expense. How humiliating it was!

"Let's get moving, yeah."

Even more than her, Deidara didn't sound very pleased at the direction where the conversation was going, she could tell.

Hours later, Sakura shifted in the long robe, trying to manage the never ending folds of the long of cloth. It was one of Itachi's spare Akatsuki robe which he had handed her. Sakura had stood there dumbfounded for a moment wondering how he could even think that she would don such an article of cloth. But he had simply pointed out that it was best if she wore it lest she wanted to catch a cold and become a burden to them.

Suddenly that reminded her of his earlier threat and she found herself not so unwilling to don on the cloak.

"_**...You will easily be deemed worthless the moment you prove yourself to be less than useful."**_

But despite Itachi being shorter of all the others amongst her company, the cloak was still too big for her and kept dragging underneath her feet. Sakura could already see the dirt caked and frayed ends as she pulled at them to keep herself from tripping on it, and hoped that Itachi wouldn't mind it.

They travelled for hours in silence with the rain beating down on them mercilessly, weighing down on her petite form and she struggled to keep herself from tripping over the long cloak and to keep up with her assailants, all of whom were way faster than her. She was surprised that even someone as heavy and huge as Kisame could be so agile as he sprinted through the forest jumping from tree to tree without showing any signs of exhaustion. None of them were even close to fatigue when she began to feel the first of the weariness. But she didn't dare say anything, and instead pushed herself to keep up with them.

It was becoming harder and harder to keep herself from slipping on the slippery planes of the branches and she tried to propel herself off them as soon as her feet touched them, trying not to linger on them longer than absolutely necessary fearing that it would lead to her falling off. But it was difficult to maintain her footing, and her flowing robes that kept getting in her way all at the same time as she tried to fight off the sleep that attacked her eyes. Her eyelids were becoming heavy. But she didn't want to slow them down, and didn't mention her need for rest, and she continued to streak through the forest with Itachi and Kisame on the front and Deidara and Tobi trailing behind.

Almost another hour went by but none of the Akatsuki mentioned any plan of resting for the night, and Sakura finally chewed over the best way to approach Itachi about it without triggering his anger for her limitation, while she tried to keep her eyes open against it protests.

She cursed herself for wasting the long dull hours on staring up at the ceiling rather than catching a small nap to replenish her stamina...

Sakura didn't even realize that she had missed her footing on the slippery surface before she felt herself toppling from the branch, towards the forest floor. The scream never made it past her lips as she plummeted down, her eyes dropped shut partly in the overwhelming exhaustion that washed over her and partly in anticipation of the approaching pain. Instead of the expected cold and hard ground and the immense pain that was expected to spread throughout her back, she only felt softness, warmth and comfort.

'_Strange,'_ she thought sleepily.

"We will stop to rest in the imminent clearing," Itachi was saying, and his voice sounded rather nearby for someone who was traveling far ahead of her. But she couldn't think more as her mind seemed to drift off, encouraging her to snuggle up in the comfortable warmth that engulfed her and drift off as well.

::: ::: :::

Sakura maintained the heavy breathing pattern, while she spread her senses throughout the area and immediately felt a presence, which was becoming very familiar to her by now, around her and mentally sighed. Knowing that he could already tell that she was awake no matter how much she altered her breathing pattern, she blinked open her eyes.

Pushing herself to sit straight up, she rubbed her eyes and let them adjust to the gloom. The downpour showed no sign of stopping, she could tell from the faint pitter patter sound in the background. But they were sheltered under a canopy with enormous trees protecting them from the rain water pelting down. She pulled Itachi's cloak closer around her, seeking its heat. But the earth was sodden and did little to stop her from chilling to the bones. She sighed thinking how dirty her clothes have undoubtedly gotten from lying on the ground for so long.

Sakura shifted her legs and grimaced at the pain the shot up them.

"You sprained them," His quiet voice greeted her from somewhere very close by, much to her discomfort. Gulping lightly, she glanced up at the owner of the voice. Itachi was observing her with a look that she couldn't quite place, making a lump form in her throat. He was seated beside her, his back leaning against a tree, one of his leg bent so that he could rest his arm on it while the other leg was spread out on the ground.

She was suddenly very conscious of their proximity and realized with trepidation that it had been his body heat that she had been curling up to all this time. The thought of sleeping nestled into Itachi's arms seemed extremely strange and even more impossible. She wondered how it would feel to have his arms draped around her, swallowed in his warmth... Flushing, she mentally slapped herself and retracted her train of thoughts from venturing into such a shameful notion.

'_Not so shameful is it, he is extremely handsome after all. And I thought you had already admitted to your attraction towards him,'_her inner snickered. Sakura cussed it for its wicked innuendos.

'_You are not helping.'_

And she didn't want to think about it. The more she thought about all these, the more confused she seemed to get. And getting more confused about Uchiha Itachi was the last thing she wanted right now.

"You fell asleep on your feet and you sprained your ankle as a result."

Sakura grunted. Wincing, she bought her feet up to where she could reach it with her glowing hand. In less than a second the pain was no more. Sighing in content, she looked back up at Itachi.

"You should have mentioned that you were tired," his lips barely moved and Sakura's eyes widened. If she didn't know any better, it almost sounded like he was...like he was concerned. She would have laughed if he wasn't so nerve wreckingly close by. Itachi was a cold blooded killer, not someone who handed off his sympathy to random weak kunoichis. She was truly becoming paranoid.

She forced a smile to play on her lips although it was actually fear of the man's capabilities that made her do so, and said politely, "I didn't want to disturb your custom."

His red eyes flickered and she gasped a little as she recognized the open amusement in them. Uchiha-Freaking-Itachi was amused! She would have dismissed it as another sign of her paranoia if not for the small quirk of his lips that didn't disappear.

"I also find it annoying to waste my time catching tired kunoichis who tends to fall asleep on their feet," he paused, his smirk broadening slightly at the sight of her widened orbs, "Even more so than disrupting our," he paused before quoting, "'custom'."

She suddenly remembered herself indeed missing a footing and tumbling down earlier on. So it was him who had caught her! Was it also him who carried her all the way here? Very unlikely. But then again, she had woken up cuddled into him...

Sakura opened her mouth to say something and then closed it and again opened it, but found herself unable to speak. He seemed most...amused. Of course no sign of it passed on his handsome features, his eyes did the little talking. And his arrogant smirk made it all the more believable.

"Close your mouth before an insect decides to fly in."

She could only gawk at his words. She froze and found herself unable to move away as Itachi reached out and with his long, pale fingers he traced the lower part of her chin. A hundred sensations broke throughout her and she gasped. His eyes flickered again at this; she couldn't tell if it was from amusement for it didn't seem like it. He flicked her chin with his fingers causing her mouth to shut close before withdrawing his hand.

She found it very hard to tear her eyes from his when Kisame came marching into the clearing with an equally loud Tobi in tow, and a rather sullen Deidara far behind them. Itachi was the one who broke the eye contact as he rose with a grace that only he was capable of and walked away from her, with her widened eyes following his every step.

She could see Deidara standing yards away leaning against a tree, his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest, his face oddly inexpressive. Sakura felt a pang in her chest and quickly averted her eyes from the blonde fearing the thoughts of guilt that would come rushing to her mind any moment. She didn't want to think anymore about all these. Like she said earlier, the more she thought, the more confused she seemed to get.

Itachi spoke to Kisame before the shark-man strode over to where she was still seated, grinning all the way.

"I see you finally woke up, Pinky." He rested Samehada against the tree as he took a place beside her. A bottle of sake appeared out of the shrouds of his cloak, and he promptly engaged himself in his drink.

She didn't feel like talking either so only nodded, her eyes still glued to Itachi who was conversing with Tobi and Deidara far away from her earshot. Finally Tobi and Deidara nodded at the Uchiha. She watched as Deidara wordlessly threw what she assumed to be one of his miniature creations and a moment later it had sprouted into a huge white clay bird. She gawked. Both the blonde and his loud partner jumped up onto it and the bird rose upwards.

"Why are they leaving?" She asked Kisame who grunted and swallowed a mouthful before informing her that it was one of their own missions.

"Do they normally tag along with you and Uchiha-san?" She asked, realizing that Deidara and Tobi always seemed to be around although this wasn't their mission.

He shrugged, "No. The safe-house happened to be the nearest from where they were positioned."

"Oh." That made sense.

She silently watched as the bird gained altitude before flapping its wings against the strong winds and gradually faded into a faint dot in the night sky. Kisame and she didn't talk much after that, both of them drowned in their own thoughts.

Sakura only looked down from the sky when Itachi's silent steps approached them. Kisame immediately rose and extracted his gigantic sword. Sakura clambered up to her feet too, dusting off the Akatsuki robe that Itachi had let her borrow. It trailed out on the ground like a wedding dress's train. She sighed.

"Are you fit to travel now, kunoichi?"

Sakura nodded, although she knew very well that she wasn't well rested. But she guessed it couldn't be helped. She didn't want to annoy Itachi and disturb their system. And also she wanted to get out of the rain as soon as possible; she could imagine her fact by now, dirtied and muddy.

"_**I also find it annoying to waste my time in catching tired kunoichis who tends to fall asleep on their feet..."**_

She doubted it. It was truly impossible for her to think of Itachi agreeing to her consent. And she wasn't going to be foolish enough to ask him. She supposed she could live with being a little exhausted, rather than losing her life altogether.

Stretching herself and felt the knots of the muscles disappear. Kisame took a long, last mouthful of the alcohol before tossing the empty bottle somewhere into the bushes and wiped his mouth.

"You know Kisame-san, maybe you should visit a doctor and get your livers checked the next time we stop at a town." Sakura watched as his features turned puzzled. "Seriously? You drink and don't know of the effect of excessive drinking on the liver?" She gave him a disapproving look as he looked positively astonished by the piece of information.

"What are you saying?" He asked, frowning.

"That you shouldn't be surprised if your liver has turned blue like your skin by now!"

Kisame growled and she flashed him a cheeky smile.

The blue skinned man sneered at her direction and waved a hand as he said nonchalantly, "It's nothing that I can't live with. So don't worry your pretty pink head about it."

Sakura's brows furrowed as a vein popped out on her forehead, "I wasn't worried about you, dumbo!"

"Aw, you know you love me, Pinky." He winked at her and made a kissy face at her.

The horrified look that crossed her features must have been truly something, because Kisame burst out laughing. Itachi, who hadn't said a word decided to speak.

"We are wasting time. Let's go."

"Hai." She found herself agreeing despite the obvious fatigue creeping up her veins, her voice reverting back to a lower volume.

And yet again they were streaking past the forest in a break neck speed, as the rain soaked through their heavy Akatsuki cloaks.

Vaguely she wondered since when she let Uchiha Itachi have so much control over her.

To be continued

**A/N:** _Exams are finally over with! Has anyone been following the Gaiden?! Kishimoto had my knickers twisted in such a knot with the whole Saku-Sasu-Karin drama! Pheew, I certainly am glad that SasuSaku is UNDOUBTEDLY canon now :3 _

_Anyhow, thanks a lot for the reviews, favorites and follows; keep them coming hehe :P_


	8. Cruel Intentions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright. Thanks.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 8  
**Cruel Intentions

* * *

Kisame's hand went to the hilt of his sword even before Sakura's senses picked up the scent of trouble.

"We have company," the shark man growled, his gratification easily reflected in his gleaming eyes.

"Aa," the stoic Uchiha agreed.

Sakura was surprised to see that neither of the Akatsuki showed any sign of stopping; they continued streaking past the forest like they wanted to...

"You are going to kill them, aren't you?" She whispered as comprehension hit her harder than it all really was given that they were Akatsuki.

Itachi showed no indication of hearing her, but his bulky partner turned back his head towards her and flashed a grin much to her disgust. Why was it that Kisame found delight in whatever disgusted her?

"What did you think we were going to do, Pinky? Invite them for tea?" Kisame laughed at his own joke, which didn't strike to her even close to a joke; it was just too sick.

"You are sick!" She yelled. She felt the anger boiling inside her, and for once instead of struggling to control herself in fear of her life, she let it all go.

"We are Akatsuki," Kisame corrected her. The fact that he pointed out didn't please her any more and suddenly she was reminded of all her inner struggles. It was like a slap to her naivety.

"So what? You are just going to kill innocent people off just because they are unfortunate enough to come across you?" She came to an abrupt halt.

Kisame and Itachi paused in their tracks as well.

"It's quite simple, Pinky-" Sakura didn't give the shark-man the chance to finish.

"NO IT'S NOT! WHAT'S SIMPLE IS THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KILL AS YOU PLEASE! THEIR LIVES ARE NOT-"

Itachi who had been watching her from six trees away, was suddenly inches away from her. Still as stoic. Still as expressionless. It was as if nothing fazed him. Just how heartless was he?

And her? The sight of him standing so close to her made blood roar in her ears and sent her

heart rate soaring. Her eyes drank in every little detail of his face while her emotions tumbled between the extremes of panic, anger and fear. Two of those emotions were very fitting but she willed herself to focus on the anger. She clenched and unclenched her fists.

"Their lives are not what?" He asked, his voice as blatant as his face.

The fear that prickled at the back of her head vanished, the look of uncertainty in her pools of emerald replaced by something firm and smoldering. When she spoke, her voice was strong, "Not yours to take."

He didn't say anything more. Instead held their gaze for what seemed to be an eternity. Blood red bore into emerald.

"Er..." Kisame was the one to break the silence. It seemed like Itachi, like her, had forgotten the Mist-nin's presence altogether and blinked once before looking away at his partner. Her head whipped around to glare at Kisame much to his amusement, but he shifted his gaze to Itachi, the grey skin around his lips stretching into a revoltingly sick smile. The elder Uchiha nodded silently at whatever his partner was indicating to. Kisame sped away from them.

"Where is he going?" She asked, puzzled. Her stomach flipped.

Itachi didn't glance back at her as he turned around with what Sakura assumed as the intention to continue forward, nor did he answer her question.

"Kunoichi, I don't like repeating myself. Anyone who stands in our way will be deemed as an obstacle and simply be taken care of." Itachi's words made her freeze. Did he mean that? Of course he did! He was a killing machine, he fucking enjoyed killing! How many times now had he pointed it out to her in the last few days?

The anger she had been focusing on flared hotter than before. Her voice was surprisingly collected as she spoke next, "Is that what Kisame has gone to do? To _take care_ of them?"

Again Itachi didn't reply.

In the silence Sakura could pick up the loud metal noises ringing from somewhere far out in the forest with her shinobi senses. The battle sounds echoed throughout the expanse of her mind, mocking her.

She closed her eyes and smiled bitterly.

"Fine then Uchiha-san, have it your way." She said as she backed away from him and leaped over to the next tree branch, taking her stance and facing him. She let her smile fade away as her eyes took a hardened glaze. She spread out her hands forward challengingly, and tilted her head, "Seems like you have to take care of me as well, ne?" She whispered softly while refusing entry to fear.

'_Oh, Kami-sama…'_

'_Foolish, foolish Sakura, you have no chance against someone like Itachi,'_ she scolded herself as she tried not to panic. She swore she saw Itachi's face twist in something as dark as it had the night when she had first had dinner with the Akatsuki.

Her lips compressed into a thin line.

It was not even Sharingan that was the biggest problem, it was that Itachi's other skills were perfect as well. She was very well dead.

For the longest time Itachi didn't show any sign to move and just when Sakura was contemplating to let her throbbing muscles to fall into relaxation, he finally began to slowly move closer to her. The way he was approaching her and the look in his eyes sparked some reaction in Sakura, something foreign in the Uchiha's blank facade. In response, she took a step back as her wide eyes took in his beautiful blood gaze. Sakura shivered.

Her back bumped the bark of the tree that they have been standing on, and she flattened herself against it with no other escape, not that she had the courage to. The tall Uchiha continued to move forward until he was standing directly in front of her. Déjà vu played in her mind recounting the last time he had her cornered.

Sakura stared into his eyes for a moment, straining her hands along the Akatsuki robe that he had given her in nervous discomfort. They were alone and being this close frightened her in an exhilarating way which it had not a few nights ago under the watch of his equally sadistic partners when his eyes had flashed similarly and his face twisted with emotion beyond his capacity.

Right then she didn't fear for her life, but she feared for her ability to stay resolute on her path and her resolve.

"Are you not scared?" He asked in his soft, muted voice.

"Sc-scared? N…no," she said with some nonchalance, but her broken voice betrayed it all. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block out their proximity.

"We are Akatsuki. We have our goals and objectives. We will do whatever it requires of us and remove every obstacle that stands in our way of achieving our ideal. We can do as we please. And we will kill as we please. We do not show mercy." Itachi moved in, closing what remained of the minute space between them. Sakura felt his heated breathe on her face and the line of his body against hers.

"Do you no longer fear what we can do to you?" He asked as softly as before, his hands moving to bark on either side of her. Sakura's gaze turned to watch him blocking her in, making a wall in front of her with his dangling robe.

"Kill me?" She asked quietly, and then swallowed hard.

She could feel her chest rising painfully against his with the unsure situation; whatever game that he was playing with her, as he leaned in closer, so close that she felt his breathe on her cheek. Sakura tensed; it was too close.

"The thought has crossed my mind about a hundred times. But I can't just give in to the likes of you just out of fear for my own life, knowing that the preservation of my life could destroy thousand others'." She finally said truthfully as she felt his cheek brush hers. Her voice was soft and small.

Itachi's fingers lightly ran along the soft strands of short hair lying along the back of her neck. It felt like at any moment these fingers might grab her in a death hold. Fear or thrill, she couldn't say what was making her body tremble against his.

"Why won't you just kill me?" She whispered while fighting the small whimper rising in her throat from his touch.

The corner of his lips lifted to a smirk against the skin of her neck.

"Please..." she pleaded. She didn't want to do this anymore. She didn't know how much more of it she could take.

Itachi paused for a moment but didn't relinquish his hold on her. "There is something in you that," he ran his tongue over his lips and Sakura was horrified at how drawn she was to him by that simple action, "...that intrigues me."

"In-Intrigues you?" She couldn't hide the shock, even in her quiet voice. Was this why she was kept alive even after all the constant insolence? Hadn't he just made it clear that they were Akatsuki, not someone to be messed with?

He made no reply as his mouth continued to move across the skin of her neck. Sakura groaned breathily, then bit her lip for giving away a small indication that she might not really be hating the way he was making her feel. By now her eyes were closed again, and she concentrated on the shivers his touches were giving her.

"S…stop…I don't…" But her words were breathy and unconvinced. Being truthful to herself, she was enjoying his touch and the way her body was responding. Never would she have imagined having a moment like this with someone like Itachi, but reason seemed to fly out the window. Soft kisses were left along the skin of her neck before he moved to her jaw line. Unable to stop herself, Sakura tipped her head for him, engrossed in how good all of it felt.

Gently, even gentler than she would imagine a man like Itachi to be, he pulled her closer. Their mouths hovered apart, only an inch away.

"St…stop," she breathed onto his lips. Some reason found its way past her newly experienced urges. He moved closer. She felt the slight brush of his lips, but it wasn't a kiss. His dark eyes gazed into hers, almost as if he was waiting to see something there.

Wasn't she in love with Sasuke? How did she find it so impossibly easy to forget Sasuke at that moment, when she had tried for years and years in vain? No! Even if she could forget Sasuke, she couldn't afford to forget who Itachi was! He was whom Sasuke had sworn to kill and Konoha's threat... For Konoha's sake, she had to fight this...this attraction that she seemed to possess towards Itachi.

Slowly her mind came back to her. Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly as her eyes lost the luster it had gained in the heated moment between them.

"Itachi?" She asked uncertainly, her mind whirling with thoughts greater than she could comprehend. He didn't respond for a long time.

"Not Uchiha-san? Have you forgotten who I am?" When he spoke, his voice had reverted back to the monotonous one that she was far more comfortable with. Silence and stillness filled in between the two of them. Sakura trembled in his strong grasp, but he didn't show any sign of letting her go. She returned his gaze, gasping as he watched her with the pinwheel orbs of Mangekyou.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" She bit out, her green eyes narrowed into slits. Out of reflex, she began to draw chakra to her hands. No matter how much attracted she was to him, or how much he affected her, she would never let him get into her mind. She had made that mistake once and it was about time she took a lesson from it.

Itachi easily noticed the chakra cascading to her hands. His fingers slid over hers as he covered them in his bigger ones, tracing her knuckles and leaving more on its wake than it should have. He asked, "Thinking of killing me?"

"I…" Sakura hissed with fearful frustration. Her fists clenched.

Itachi let out a small breath as he took a step back, releasing his hold. They stared at each other, Sakura panting and frightened, Itachi's face slowly losing its look of amusement. At a loss as to what he was thinking, Sakura finally unclenched her fists. Finally Itachi turned away and leaped over to some three branches away. He turned his face a little, and Sakura could only see his strong jaw line, complimented by the smooth curve of his cheek.

"Do not forget who we are and how far we are willing to go merely for the sake of ourselves. We live only for ourselves," he said emotionlessly.

Sakura shut her eyes close, begging to Kami-sama to let all these be just a part of a nightmare. She didn't want any of this. All she wanted was the comfort of her own blankets around her as she awoke from her deep sleep to smell in the fresh air of Konoha. Now will she ever see Konoha again?

"Come, Kisame will have dealt with them by now."

For a long while, she just stayed there as she waiting for her heartbeat to return to a normal level.

And then much to her protest, her legs found themselves and swiftly followed behind the Uchiha. Nauseating at the thought of walking into a battlefield where one lucid victor would stand over numerous bloodied bodies, she began to brace her mind for witnessing the actual scene. Knowing Kisame and his love for death, she could imagine the horrors that awaited her eyes already.

After a few minutes of leaping from tree to tree, Itachi paused before jumping down and disappearing into the thick foliage below. It was too dark for her to discern anything other than Kisame's obvious chakra signature that pumped throughout the area and a few more faint ones. Her heartbeat increased at the prospect of some survivors. And then just as hope lit, it withered away as she realized that even if Kisame had been having problems defeating them, there were no chances for the poor shinobis now that Itachi had joined the battle.

With a sinking feeling that did not suit her stomach, she let herself fall downwards, bracing herself for whatever trouble that could come her way as soon as she landed, after all she was garbed in the famous Akatsuki attire.

But she was never prepared for what hit her.

Something plummeted down on her even before she landed, throwing her across the clearing. Her clone poofed away even before its back hit any tree. The real Sakura who was still standing still on the branch above, skillfully masking her chakra tried to discern anything that could give her an upper hand with her opponents.

Her eyes widened. Shit! Why did she call them her opponent? They weren't her opponents; they were Kisame and Itachi's opponents. Why should she choose to make them hers too? If anything she was on the same side as them, trying to wipe off the hazards known as Akatsuki from the face of the world.

But she decided that she preferred to keep out of the fight; it wouldn't help her even if she tried to assist the group of shinobi. Firstly they would mistake her for the killer duos' accomplice, dressed in the attire that she was; and secondly, it was very obvious that they wouldn't survive this battle for long and then once again Sakura would be left on her own for Akatsuki's wrath to be inflicted upon her. Despite her own conviction a while back with Itachi when she had acclaimed her life for others, she found herself thinking that she wanted to live for a while longer. And right now assisting the group wouldn't serve her so.

Grimacing, she noted the significant change in herself; how self preserving she has become in such a short time. Surely if she was amongst her own comrades, she wouldn't have thought twice before jumping to assist a group of shinobi unfortunate enough to fall before Akatsuki. Then what was it in her that made her act otherwise now?

Her inner reminded her that this was what Itachi was talking about a bit back; how Akatsuki were nuke-nins and free from all other than serving the ideal that their organization shared. They had no obligations to anyone and they acted on their own will. They took it upon themselves to kill as they pleased and live as they pleased. They showed no mercy because that was just how they have become. Over the time they had simply become selfish due to the lack of obligations to any other than their own selves. Self preservation was their top priority. And thinking back to her own thoughts, she realized that it wasn't fair that she condemn them for it when she herself was also starting to see things in the same way.

Vaguely she wondered if she was worried enough to put her life to priority, was she too beginning to think of herself as a missing-nin? All these confused her to no end and locking it up at the back of her mind seemed to do no good either.

"Who is the other one with you?" A raspy voice was asking. Sakura thought that the voice sounded familiar; perhaps someone she had come across in one of her recent missions but not familiar enough for her to put a face to it. And he seemed to be asking of her, or rather her clone. He hadn't noticed her features and obviously didn't recognize her.

"What is it to you? You are about to die! Better say your prayers than ask for information that doesn't concern you," Kisame sniggered.

"Looked familiar, that's all."

Even in the face of death, Sakura was astonished to find how calm the man seemed to sound. Now really curious to see who it was that possessed such composure, she peered down. But it wouldn't do; the thick foliage made it hard for her to see anything other than green and the dark didn't help either.

Wondering if it was worth it or if Itachi would get angry at her for it, she dropped down. She landed down with a disgusting sound that the mud and her sandals seemed to conjure up. Taking extra care so she didn't slip on the muddy ground or trip over her trailing cloak, she surveyed the area.

Much of it lay in carters, strewn with bloodied corpses. There were about a dozen or more. But the sheer number wasn't what pierced through her mind. It was the vest that all of them donned.

She felt her chest constrain.

Green.

"Ah, knew you looked familiar," the voice drew her gaze to its owner, "Sakura-san."

"Ge...Genma-san," she managed to acknowledge the man. He had grown much attached to the Rookie Nine over the years and was even rumored to be dating Shizune.

Hundreds of thoughts passed through her mind, all too muddled for her to distinguish.

"So, what are you doing with them?" He asked nodding towards the Akatsuki, biting on his ever present senbon as his eyes drank in her appearance. She could only guess how she must look in her Akatsuki attire...He probably hated her right then, and she couldn't blame him for it.

She couldn't bring herself to answer. Instead her eyes took in the sight of the numerous wounds inflicted on his body that his shredded vest granted her. He seemed to have a bad burn on his left hand, a courtesy of Itachi she was sure. Unlike the others, he could live if only...

If only the Akatsuki let him go. Sakura laughed at her own stupidity. _'Of course, that won't happen._' She didn't see it happening even in her best dream.

"That is none of your business," Kisame told him, swinging his sword to chop his head off but Genma was fast enough to evade the blow by putting a few yards distance between them. Kisame wasn't about to give up either as he sped forward and she could hear the metallic clangs of Genma's trademark senbons hitting Samehada.

As the two of them clashed, Sakura noted that Itachi was standing well away from them, his eyes closed. She wondered how it was that he tolerated it, watching fellow shinobis with whom he had once shared his homeland, if not anything else, fall. Didn't his heart clench like hers did? She snorted, of course not. Uchiha Itachi didn't even have a heart. If he did, she couldn't see how could have done any of the evils that he did.

Gulping, she bended over and checked the pulse of the shinobi lying face-first at her feet. She didn't recognize him, but she recognized the sign of lifelessness as soon as she touched him. Being a medic it was one of the things she had come to accept over the time-she wouldn't be able to save everyone. But this time that thought didn't serve her the comfort that it usually did to drown her guilt.

Here her comrades were fighting with their very lives to help protect what they all loved. And there she was laying helpless on the futon of a cell, bathing and eating, making friends out of terrorists, thinking how nice they were, contemplating about how justifies their actions were, letting her guard down until the point where she _cared_ for them and would miss their very presence should they part ways, going as far as to let the sworn enemy of the man she loved kiss her and touch her as he pleased...

But then why should she feel so guilty? A part of her mind told her. Was it her fault that the troop had been unfortunate enough to come across the Akatsuki? Wasn't it an acceptable fate that there was always a possibility of death if ever encountering an Akatsuki? Was it her fault that they weren't strong enough to survive a fight with people of such high caliber? Was it her fault that this was beyond her help? Was it her fault that Akatsuki had targeted her for her medical skills? Was it her fault that they were nice in their own ways? Was it her fault that their actions didn't seem as unjustified as thought more about it? Was it her fault that she wasn't heartless enough to forget all the kindness that they showed her? Was it her fault that she seemed to make Itachi intrigued? Was it her fault that Itachi's kisses and touches made her feel so damn good in a way that no one else's ever could?

No. They couldn't blame her for their unfortunate fate of encountering Akatsuki and never surviving it. They couldn't blame her for their weaknesses. They couldn't blame her for being far beyond her help.

She was _proud_ to find that Akatsuki deemed her skills worthy of their attention. She was _glad_ that she got the chance to see them for who they really were. She was _delighted_ to find their actions justified, even if it only meant that it made it easier for her to justify her own actions. She was _relieved_ that she wasn't heartless enough to not return their kindness. She was _thrilled_ by the fact that she intrigued someone like Itachi. She _enjoyed_ Itachi's attention. She was _attracted_ to his very soul.

Sakura blinked as the whole weight of the thoughts crashed upon her. Controversial as it was, she felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her heavy heart. She found that in the span of the last few days, it was easiest to breathe right then.

Spreading her senses she saw that there were no life forces remaining in any of the bodies littering the ground. Sighing and telling herself that what was done was done and was beyond her help, she concentrated on what could yet use her help.

"Uchiha-san," she had her eyes lowered as she walked up to him. He slowly opened his eyes and fixed it on her. Thinking over her words, she sighed. There was no other way. "_I_ have a proposition for you."

Oh, how the tables have turned in a matter of days! Just the other day it was the other way around, with Itachi offering her a proposition. She glanced up at him to see his reaction. But of course there was none. He just looked at her, cold, impassive, blank. Seeing that Itachi didn't turn her down, she took it as a hint to continue.

She hastily explained, "I will cooperate with _your_ earlier proposition if you will please let Genma-san walk away unharmed."

Her patiently honed medical skills suddenly became her failsafe. As much as Itachi could finish off Genma right there, Sakura couldn't think of no one who would be more able to save him in the circumstances.

Itachi smirked, "Oh? I thought we had already decided on your cooperativeness the moment you chose to heal Deidara against your resolve to heal any Akatsuki."

Her throat went dry, and she couldn't bring her voice to say anything other than a strangled, "Pl-please..."

Itachi stared down at her, his blood red eyes piercing through her broken green ones. He didn't show any sign of relenting, of course she wouldn't. She was foolish to even think so.

"I-If not out of humanity," she found herself saying vehemently, "Please do it out of pity for me!"

The smirk slid off his features and for the second time that day Sakura witnessed his eyes flashing dangerously at her as he swiftly had her throat in his hold. His grasp wasn't forceful or hurtful; just gentle and soft. But Sakura knew just how much capable it was to relieve her off her life.

"Ple-please," she found herself begging him.

His long lashes lowered as his grip tightened a little, making her swallow hard. He whispered heatedly, "I thought I made it clear that I do not act out of mercy or pity."

"I..." she was at a loss of words, "Please, Uchiha-san." She couldn't find any other words.

There was only silence as the loud noises of weapons clashing floated to their ears from far away in the battlefield.

"What you ask is impossible," he finally withdrew his hold and took a step back from her, his gaze moving to look past her at the battle taking place yards away.

Sakura's hand immediately rushed up to her neck, caressing it as she asked, "Why not?"

Itachi didn't meet her imploring look and nor did he say anything. Sakura looked over her shoulder; she could see that the battle was going to be over soon with one lucid victor who had claimed victory over all the rest of the group. Her time was running out.

Steeling herself she yanked at the elder Uchiha's arm and made him look down at her. A rare look of incredulity passed through his features before it was locked behind his emotionless facade. He glared down at her. And she glared right back. Moments passed before he averted his eyes from hers.

"You give me no credit at all. I do not like this any more than you do."

To say Sakura was astonished by the words was an understatement. Here she was standing with Uchiha Itachi who had just told her that he didn't like this situation any more than she did. What did that mean? That he still cared for his homeland? That he was capable of caring in the first place? That he didn't like shedding blood despite himself? Surely, it had to mean something? Because Itachi didn't strike to her as someone who lied.

But she couldn't risk probing into this matter, no matter how curious she was. She had to save Genma's life. This was not beyond her help, she kept telling herself. So instead of asking any further about what he meant, lest he turned her off entirely, she said softly, "Then please..."

Itachi met her softened gaze and Sakura wondered what went behind that genius mind of his. Then at length he shook his head.

"Do it for me then, if not even out of pity."

His eyes flashed, and his voice was harsh and deadly, "You seem to think that I would to do something for you?"

Her heart rose to her throat and Sakura gulped; this was such a foolish game. And she was indeed so, so foolish.

"You say that I give you no credit... Then show me something for which I can give you credit."

"I do not need to justify my actions to you."

Those were the exact words that he had uttered the nights before. And yes, of course he didn't have to justify his actions to her. The silence was overwhelming.

"He will inform the Hokage of our plans, I am sure he has by now deduced that you are being hold as a captive."

She snorted, "With these Akatsuki robes?" She pulled at the hem of the material.

"It's raining."

She frowned at his logic. Sakura didn't know what possessed her to say so, but she said, "Then I will tell him that I have willingly joined Akatsuki! But please let him go..."

There was another foreboding silence as she realized exactly what she had bought upon herself in a moment of thoughtlessness.

"I..." She wondered if there was a way to take back her words.

Itachi smirked, his head cocked sideways, "Is it a deal?"

No, there was no way to take her words back. She could only chew them over. The motions have already been set. Her gaze was hesitant and then she remembered that this was a sacrifice she was willing to do for Konoha and her loved ones.

"Yes, it is."

"Your loyalty is truly admirable. I will hold you to your words as a kunoichi." Way to go for him to hold it to against her honor, she grimaced. But what was done was done. And then there was that praise again. Surely she should feel honored; and she did.

"You are allowed to let him go as soon as you are able to convince Kisame to do it."

Sakura could never forget the smirk that adorned his arrogant face right then as she blinked a couple of times stupidly.

"Wh-what?!"

"Hn."

"B-but aren't you going to stop him?" She was panic stricken, "Kisame will never listen to me! Look at him! I swear, killing people turns him on!"

The smirk on the Uchiha's handsome face broadened and Sakura swore that the only thing keeping her from trying to land a punch on that pretty face of his was the prettiness of it and the time that was running out on her.

"Hn."

"ARGH!"

Spinning around on her heels, she stomped over to where the two other men were battling. She came to a stop and put her hands on her hips. Breathing in a lungful of air she yelled over the ear splitting noise, "Kisame!"

The first time didn't work.

"KISAME!"

"God Pinky, stop blowing off my ears! What is it? Can't you see I'm in a middle of something?" He yelled back still going head to head with Genma.

Sakura frowned, "Kisame stop this fight right now or..."

"Or what?" Came Kisame's indignant shout.

"Or I will make you!"

"I would like to see you try!"

"Have you forgotten my fist imprinted on you ugly face?"

Kisame growled.

Sakura glared.

"You are so asking for it, Pinky!"

"Hell I am!"

"Enough."

Itachi's quiet but smooth voice was sufficient to make them shut up. In the silence they both glared at each other with Genma looking from one to the other, eyes narrowed and no doubt, bewildered.

"Hn."

Sakura supposed that was his way of reminding her that she was supposed to do according to their deal. Sighing, she averted her eyes from the shark-man's beady ones and turned to Genma. She saw him tense visibly and bitterly thought how ironic it was to have your reflex work in a way to fight against your very comrade. It was a terrible thing to do.

Swallowing hard to clear her throat, she slowly walked over to Genma as his eyes watched every step that she took warily, until she stood toe to toe with him. Tears threatened to spill down her eyes and it burned the corner of her eyes. She forced them back.

"Genma..." She was sure her voice held more emotions than Itachi approved of, "Allow me to answer your query. I've..." Sakura paused as Genma frowned, "...joined Akatsuki."

Alarm was easily identified in the elder ninja's features along with the mixture of so many others. But she had to do what she had to do. This was something she had to do...for Konoha.

'_For Konoha?'_ Her inner scoffed at her choice of words and Sakura deliberately pushed it in the back of her head as she willed her inner to hold her tongue for once.

"I have joined Akatsuki willingly and have no intention of returning to Konoha," Her heart broke to say the words, but somehow she managed to bring herself to utter them, "Please relay my decision to the Hokage."

"Sakura-san you couldn't mean that! Tell me that they," a disgusted look was thrown over where Itachi and Kisame were standing, "...are making you do this to confuse me!"

She wanted to tell him so, she so did. But instead she just shook her head robotically, "No, what I said is the truth. I've joined the Akatsuki."

"Sakura-san-" He groaned as pain from his injuries hit him and he fell on his knees to the ground. Sakura immediately dropped next to him, her chakra concentrated on her palm. But Genma caught her wrist in a painful grip.

"You are hurting me!" She cried out in pain and tried to yank it away from his painful grip, but it was unyielding. In that moment when she stared deep into his eyes, pain and betrayal was all that they reflected from where she had always seen friendliness and kindness.

"Genma-san," she only whispered.

He coughed up blood and his other hand went to cup his wound on his stomach that seemed the worst. Panicking, she realized that if she didn't heal him soon, her deal that decided her fate with Itachi would be in vain.

"Let me heal you!" She pleaded trying to wretch her hand from his death grip, but he wouldn't relinquish.

"No." There was a ring of finality in his tone. "If what you say is indeed the truth, Sakura, I don't accept help from those who are my sworn enemies."

The word hit her sharper than any weapon ever could. As she stilled in his grip, he slowly let her hand fall to the ground. The rain fell harder, making her pink tresses fall down her forehead limply. Her eyes lingered on Genma's warm brown ones until his eyelids dropped down and he relented to the darkness.

Biting her tongue and letting a bitter smile touch her lips, she looked up at the sky. The raindrops attacked her face, the coldness of each drop felt like a needle piercing through her skin. She was glad that it was raining; she didn't want Kisame or Itachi witnessing her gush of tears.

Slowly she let her eyelids dip, the hollow ache in her heart pounding in her chest. She only cracked open her eyes, her face still facing heaven, when footsteps sounded on the rainwater. Someone came to a stand beside her. Itachi. He dropped on his knees beside her and from the corner of her eyes she could see his elegant, pale hands shooting forward from the shrouds of his dark clothes to turn Genma over on his back.

Sakura noted that the senbon sucking man was still breathing, although it was ragged. For a moment the urge to heal him anyways hit her system but she restrained herself. His words flooded back to her and she knew that there was no way she would act against the wishes of someone whom she cared about. She respected him too much to do otherwise.

She watched as Itachi's fingers slid open his eyelids to reveal two warm brown pools and the Uchiha peered into it.

"You will not awake until the next six hours has passed." By which time they would have already reached Wind Country.

That's it? No 'you-will-forget'? But she guessed that Genma didn't need to forget anything. After all, they _wanted_ him to remember everything. As Itachi rose to his feet, Sakura told him something that she thought she might have never gotten the chance to say again, "Arigato."

If he was astonished, he certainly didn't show it. He just walked away.

Deciding that it was time to leave, she silently conjured up the words to send a small prayer up in the heaven for all the departed souls and so that Genma lives through it. She doubted her prayers would ever be heard; what an awful person she has become!

Trying to blow her nose as silently as she could on the sleeves of her robe and swallow up the lump in her throat that refused to go, she rose to her feet. Her legs trembled under her weight and she somehow managed to take a couple of steps before Kisame was by her side holding her elbows in support.

She was too much disgusted with Kisame at that moment to accept his assistance despite the goodness that he meant by it and jerked away her hand from his grasp. This made her already imbalanced legs give out beneath her as she stumbled. Surprisingly it was Itachi who caught her. She thought that they would just leave her on the ground to die out of cold. Yeah, she wished. Her inner snorted.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Itachi nodding to Kisame, who strode off. Itachi didn't show any signs of moving for a couple of minutes, letting her regain her balance first. When she was confident that she could walk, she jerked herself away from him and immediately Itachi let her go.

"Time to keep your part of the deal."

The words alone set her world in fire and slowly her mind rewound all the things that had happened in the past hours. Itachi's touches and kisses seemed another life away...

_**"Do not forget who we are and how far we are willing to go for the sake of ourselves. We live only for ourselves."**_

Understanding dawned upon her, and she quickly turned to find Itachi leaning against a tree a few feet away, staring at her with blank eyes. His gaze was intense. The kisses and touches have been merely to divert her attention from the battle that Kisame had rushed into. All these time he had known that it was Leaf... And he had just seduced her and she had given in to him; given in to the desires of her heart disregarding her conflictions and good sense.

His sole duty was self preservation, and he didn't take the time to pay any others' life a thought. With the adrenaline diminishing, Sakura choked out a sob as a confused whirlwind of thoughts clouded her mind.

Yes, he was a killer and she was a very easy prey for him, should he choose to make her one. How foolish it had been to put her life in his hands so many times by simply provoking him. Now she could think of nothing else but finishing her business with him and going wherever her legs chose to take her. Because Konoha was no longer an option. He had made sure of that.

Deidara's appearance from out of nowhere made her even dizzier than she was. So he had chosen to stop avoiding her at last...Talk about terrible timing.

Despite herself, she found herself giving a small smile at him which he returned just as good naturedly. She didn't even have to tell but Deidara understood anyways as his arms snaked around her petite waist as a support, just like he had all those nights ago.

"I hear you just as well declared yourself a missing-nin, yeah," The amusement in his voice was open. It was as if by this single action, she had won him back for all her wrongdoings towards him. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, smelling in his masculine scent so different from a certain Uchiha's. She was burnt out and Deidara's embrace was the only solace she could find.

Itachi may know what he wanted and may have decided to live only for himself, but who gave him the authority to snatch away what was hers, and to decide whether she lived for only herself or not? Didn't he know that there was no way she could live only for herself? She had been raised to live for others, to lay down her life for others.

'_I intrigue you, huh?'_ She mused, her head bowed down.

Now that he had snatched away her reason to be alive, Uchiha Itachi, _himself_ would be the very reason that she would live for; she swore to herself. He had brought it upon himself.

To be continued...

**A/N: **_How terribly late I'm! But look at the bright side, Sakura just swore Itachi would be her reason to live from now on *grins*_


	9. Reflections

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 9  
**Reflections

* * *

Sakura didn't feel up to looking around the village as they walked past the gates. The guards have been alarmingly hospitable in letting them through, yelling at others to let them pass without trouble. Itachi, Kisame nor Deidara had spared a glance towards them. But she had raised her tired head from where it rested on Deidara's chest and looked them over. There hospitability could easily be explained by their fear for their lives, she thought, pitying them.

Tobi hadn't returned from whatever horrible he was doing out there. So their team was only Itachi, Kisame and Deidara. She and Deidara were at the back, their pace rather sluggish, preceded by Kisame who made it a point not to venture too fast ahead like his partner. Itachi had been travelling the entire journey way uh ahead of them, something for which she was grateful. Despite the words that she had made to herself, she could do very well avoiding him as long as possible before she had enough rest and food in her system to think all of it through. There was much to think about.

But it was proving to be impossible for her to think any more than that as her head whirled again, making her close her eyes and rest her head back in Deidara's chest. Deidara had been kind enough to lend her his shoulder to rest on all those hours ago, and had been even kinder to pick her up in his arms when Itachi had announced his intention of continuing their journey despite her clause. Deidara had been carrying her for what she deduced as the last three hours. She would have to find a way to thank him later.

That reminded her of all the things that she had to thank him for, and apologize for. The list seemed to get longer and longer. And she had only been around for about five days only. Who knew how much she would be owing to Deidara by the time all this came to end.

Although her eyes were closed, she could hear the noises of scrapping feet against the gravel as people hurried to move out of their way to let them pass. She could hear the whimpers of little children as they were held back by their parents from getting in their way. There were a few sharps cries of infants as their mothers cradled them desperately in hopes to calm them down. She could _feel_ the constricting air.

Sluggishly she turned her head away from Deidara's chest and peered into the crowds. All man and woman alike averted their eyes from hers the instant their eyes met. Women drew their shawls closer to themselves protectively. Dropping her gaze further down to the children lingering by their parents' leg, clutching as firmly as their tiny hands would allow. Sakura was pleased to see that the children didn't flinch away when she met their eyes. With much effort, she smiled gently at them. And immediately they averted their eyes and scrambled to hide behind their parents' legs.

Her smile faded and she looked back up at the people. The distrust and hatred that swirled along with fear deep in their eyes and hearts made her blood turn cold. Right, she was no longer deemed as someone to be trusted. Not with the bloody Akatsuki cloak that she was adorned in, nor with the company she was associated with, never with the promise that burned deep in her heart. She sighed and turned her head away.

"Why hasn't anyone come to stop us yet?" She whispered breathily, but knew that Deidara had heard her.

The blonde's chest rumbled in a chuckle against her cheek, "They are afraid, yeah."

Kisame who was a few steps ahead of them, undoubtedly understanding the train of their conversation, joined in.

"Besides, this is mostly a civilian village. There is not much they can do against three international S-ranked missing-nins." She could hear the grin in his voice, and flinched.

"But won't you run into trouble if other shinobi come snooping in, seeking for information? The villager may be as frightened of them just as much as they are of you... it wouldn't be a problem to get information out of them..."

Kisame downright laughed, strangely making her feel like an idiot. She could feel Deidara's chest rumble as well in silent laughter as he politely tried to refrain from laughing out at her. Opening her eyes, she turned her head around and glared at Kisame.

"What's so funny?"

"Heh. Tell me Pinky, you have tried to track us down for years haven't you?"

She frowned, _'Just what is he trying to say?'_

Kisame smirked, "I'm sure you tried 'snooping around, seeking for information', didn't have much luck though did you?"

Reluctantly she realized that he was right. All these time they had assumed that Akatsuki simply was too good in hiding their trails; never imagining the prospect that they _didn't_ need to hide in the first place. She didn't reply which made Kisame laugh again.

Stupid Kisame.

"Where are we going?" She reverted to whispering, knowing that she was too frail to keep up the banter with someone with an energy-reserve like the shark-nin.

"We are gonna crash in some inn," Deidara sounded like he was yawning, "Speaking of which... wasn't it located somewhere around here?"

"You'd see that you're about to walk into a wall as soon as you undo the seal," Kisame replied, and suddenly vanishing from the sight as he entered the boundaries of some kind of an enchantment.

"I forgot all about that, yeah. Kai."

Sakura wondered what it was that needed to be unsealed but didn't have the energy to open her eyes and see it for herself.

"What do you mean?" Her voice was diminishing.

"This inn is specifically made for shinobis. It's like if you can't trace out the inn in the first place, you don't deserve to sleep in it." He rolled his eyes, "Or something like that, yeah."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it, yeah." Shifting Sakura, so she was now being carried by only one arm, he bought his other hand to form the seals, "Kai."

When Sakura had gathered enough energy to open her eyes next, there stood an average looking structure covered with neon lights announcing its very existence.

"Here we go."

With light steps, Deidara walked over to the door and entering into the quiet lobby decorated rather humbly for shinobis and in a dark but sophisticated shade. Kisame was leaning against the wall, a few steps away from them as other shinobis, rouges, she recognized despite her hazy sight, scrambled past trying to keep their eyes as averted from their direction as possible lest they be killed for just a stray glance.

And Kisame seemed to take a pleasure in frightening them more as he fixed his beady outlandish eyes on them and flicked his tongue over his lips, making a disgusting smacking sound. Sakura winced as she had the sudden desire to puke.

"Oh Lord...Kisame has probably made half of them pee in their pants by now," she whispered into Deidara's chest, giggling lightly. Deidara's chest rumbled in a sign of agreement.

She noticed with satisfaction that his other hand had again come to enclose around her, showering her with warmth. Deidara radiated a warm kind of warmth, not the kind that she felt when Itachi was around. Deidara's one was more comfortable and less... alluring.

Frowning slightly, she averted her thoughts to the more welcoming prospect of sleeping in a bed. She could already feel the sensation of her back hitting a soft mattress... She must have moaned out loud, because Deidara looked most amused when her eyes flew open, a teasing smile on his lips. She flushed.

Lowering his voice to the point that it sounded husky, "What're you thinking about, hmmm?"

The way he dragged on the 'hm' made her swallow, "N-Nothing."

A reply was about to cross his smirking lips when Itachi, who had been conversing with the receptionist so long made his presence known, the keys dangling from his fingers jingled lightly.

"We are staying the night. Kisame and Deidara will take one room," he tossed a key at Kisame's direction, giving the time for Sakura to draw the conclusion that she would have her own room... The joy! Eagerly, her gaze fell down to the Uchiha's hands which held the keys, or the _key_. She frowned, puzzled.

Deidara also seemed to have noticed her concern and asked, the frown on his brows reaching to his voice, "Where is her key?"

Kisame who was already walking off, rumbled with what Sakura deduced as muted laughter. What was there to laugh about?

"There will be no need for the kunoichi to have one room to herself."

Sakura blinked, her exhausted mind working in an overload as it tried to make sense of what Itachi had just said. It seemed like Deidara's mind was fitter and faster to draw conclusions than hers, "What, she is going to share with you?" He asked jokingly.

"Is there a problem with that?"

There was a long pause where Sakura couldn't even bring her mind to comprehend the whole situation, much less protest to it. Deidara seemed to be equally in a loss of words. She watched him from her position within his arms and saw his mouth opening and then closing a couple of times but unable to say anything before finally his jaw tightened and a frown adorned his brows.

"Yes, I do have a problem it, Uchiha."

And then the glaring contest began.

Sakura didn't have the strength to look over at the Uchiha but knew from experience that how scary it must have looked. She mentally cursed Deidara for being such a big fool as to look into the eyes of an Uchiha who possessed Mangekyou. She had thought he knew better than that.

The atmosphere was dark and heavy and she knew she could do little than to pray to Kami that Itachi didn't decide to get pissed, after all she had witnessed the turn of events the last time he had decided that he had enough of Deidara. And this time she wouldn't even have enough chakra or strength to put the blonde back together in one piece.

"Don't be foolish, Deidara." The coldness in Itachi's voice was piercing.

Deidara bit out, his eyes in a mad gleam, "I'm not being foolish, yeah. She deserves to have her own room."

"If I recall right, you were justifying her right to lie among the dead just yesterday, and now," Sakura could hear the smirk in his velvety voice, "You are fighting for her right to have her own bed. Certainly an improvement in the women department."

Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or cry. God, this was Uchiha-FREAKING-Itachi joking! But she was too exhausted to as much as chuckle.

Deidara's anger flared and Sakura felt both his pulse and blood rise in a maddening pace as he growled, "Why you-"

She decided it was best if this ended right here, both for herself and for Deidara. Careful to drive her mind blank of the Uchiha's Sharringan glare lest she was overcame with fright, she slowly raised her hand to cup Deidara's cheek, effectively cutting off his words and gaining his attention. His eyes still hadn't lost its anger as they met her barely open ones.

"I'll be fine," she tried to assure him, although she felt not the slightest bit of it. Given her lousy act, she wasn't surprised that he didn't buy it. But something in her eyes or maybe her touch made him swallow as he gazed up at Itachi for a faction on second before looking deep into her eyes again. It held gentleness in them that she was sure she didn't deserve.

The amusement that was there in Itachi's voice the previous moment flickered out just as quickly, "Let's go, kunoichi."

Quick to follow his orders, lest he inflicted his anger on Deidara, she motioned the blonde to put her down on her feet. He hesitated but helped her down on her feet anyways. She could see Itachi's back as he sauntered away. Breathing in, she took a moment to gain her footing and let her whirling head reside, before she let go of Deidara's helping hand.

She wobbled on her feet but was pleased to see that she didn't lose her balance. Testing herself, she took a few shaky steps and seeing that all was well, she turned back at Deidara and gave a small smile along with a nod of assurance. The nod was probably what caused the whirling in her head to return as everything around her spun and she was vaguely aware of falling down. Deidara's widened eyes whirled in her mind's eye...

It didn't surprise her that someone had caught her before she had hit the floor. They were shinobi, they had top class reflex. She raised her head to meet Deidara's eyes in gratitude, but could only get drowned in the gallows of dark. She gasped involuntarily.

"U-uchiha-san," she mumbled, trying to pull herself together and away from him as much as possible. But by the firmness of his hold it didn't look like he planned on letting go anytime soon, or perhaps it was just because of her fragility that his hold so delicate seemed so powerful.

"_**I also find it annoying to waste my time in catching tired kunoichis who tends to fall asleep on their feet..." **_

Her throat went dry.

Before she could protest, she felt herself being lifted off her feet and moving across the hall in a grace that she could only dream of possessing. The fact that Itachi was carrying her over his shoulders disturbed her less than it should have. Maybe, it was because she had gotten used to it by the past few long hours by being carried around by Deidara. Maybe that's why the bloody smell that seemed to emit from the man's cloak didn't disturb her. Maybe that's why Itachi didn't seem so different from Deidara.

'_But they are different, so much,'_ she said to herself as she peeked a glance at Deidara over Itachi's shoulder and found it impossible to look away from the captivating blue ones.

Itachi was cold and Deidara was nice. Itachi killed, and Deidara killed too. But where Itachi took away everything from her, Deidara tried to give her as much as possible...

Sakura didn't think it was possible for her to justify anything anymore, not with the mind that struggled to slip off to dreamland. She didn't break her gaze from Deidara's all the way to room. As the keys jiggled in Itachi's hand when he opened the door, she gathered the last bit of her strength to smile at Deidara who hadn't moved a muscle from where he had been standing, looking at her. Whether her smile was successful in assuring his mind, she didn't know because her eyes dropped and she felt everything slowly fading away.

"I find it extremely annoying, catching tired kunoichis who tend to fall asleep on their feet," a voice whispered darkly into her ears and she thought she would never hear anything sound more musical.

**SXS**

She nearly flew out of the bed when the door slammed open. Struggling to calm her beating heart and find some weapon, her eyes fell on the door.

She sighed in relief and fell back on the bed, "Oh, it's just you."

Kisame sniggered, a bottle of sake clutched in his hand, "You know how funny it is to see you get all jumpy before realizing it's just one of us?"

She decided the day was still too fresh for her to start it by glaring at him.

"What do you want?" She asked instead.

"What's with you and getting all down-to-business attitudes, huh? Can't a man just drop by to visit his little pet?" Kisame walked over into the room.

"Firstly, no," she said as she raised herself supported by her elbows, "And secondly I'm NOT your pet! Eww!"

"You're my pet if I say so."

"No way!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Let's settle this with a fight, what do you say, Pinky?"

"You're an idiot if you think I'd fall for that."

"Heh. I wasn't referring to a battle, of course I know there isn't a way in hell someone as puny as you could even ever land a blow on me."

"Oh yeah? Remember the cheek that went against the blue-code of your skin and turned all purple, Kisame-san?"

"Tsch. Touché."

"I know I'm the best."

"Right. Anyways, before I get the urge to kill you off, come to our room. Dinner is served."

Kisame laughed as she opened her mouth to retort but before long her stomach grumbled. Grumbling to herself, she got up from the bed. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her cloak, and which was nowhere in sight. Hmm, maybe it was sent away for washing? And why the hell was she questioning its absence? She should be just glad that she no longer had to wear it... It was one less thing tattooing the word 'traitor' on her.

Although she would have loved to take a relaxing bath first, she just followed Kisame out of the room and let him lead the way towards the room which he and Deidara shared. The room was a few doors down hers and Itachi's. Unlocking the door, Kisame stepped in with her following suit.

She had thought Itachi would be there, given his absence in their room. But that wasn't the case. The room was far bigger than theirs and on one side of the room a small table was standing with all kinds of food laid out on it. She felt her mouth watering.

Kisame chuckled, observing the look on her face, "Have a go at it."

Sakura didn't need anything more. She walked over as contained as possible for a lady, but all the effort she put in her walk was wasted as she dug in her food in the most unladylike way possible. She didn't care that Kisame was howling with laughter as he seated himself on a chair and stowed his plate with food.

Finally when she was sure that her stomach wouldn't betray her when she opened her mouth, she slowed her pace. "Where's Uchiha-san?"

Kisame grumbled and groaned with mouth full of food and Sakura waited trying not to finch, for him to swallow.

"Who knows where."

'_Well, that was pointless,'_ she mused.

She asked, "Won't he join us for dinner?"

When the shark-nin shrugged she let the subject drop and let him eat in peace as she stirred her own food, suddenly her appetite gone. The door creaked open much to her anticipation and Tobi flew with a sulky Deidara in tow. Sakura knew that seeing Itachi there couldn't have made her happier.

"Tobi is baaaaaack!"

The way that Tobi said it, as annoying as it was, made Sakura want to give him a hug. But she guesses they weren't used to it being Akatsuki and all, and didn't want to make him uncomfortable. So beaming, she exclaimed, "Welcome back!"

Tobi seemed most happy at being welcomed back which made her think that no one probably welcomed him back ever. Poor guy. Someone as happy-go-lucky like Tobi didn't deserve the life that he led. Perhaps, he was being forced to live this life? Nothing else made sense. Well, that was a discussion for perhaps, another day.

"Tobi missed kunoichi-san!" Tobi sang.

Sakura, who was looking at Deidara who stood idly at the other side of the room and refused to meet her eyes, tore her eyes away to look at Tobi and smile. "I missed you too, Tobi."

"Really? Kunoichi-san means it?" Sakura thought if he wasn't wearing a mask, his eyes would have been all big and glassy and pouty. The thought made her squeal.

"Yep, I mean it."

As Tobi began chorusing his happiness, Sakura caught Kisame's eyes and motioned towards the bomb-artist. Kisame only shrugged and went back to eating. Sakura gave him a pointed look and he sighed.

"Oi, barbie! What got your panties in a twist, huh?" Kisame sure had a delicate way of doing things. Deidara's eyes twitched and Sakura sweat dropped; Kisame was truly stupid.

"What is it, Deidara-san?" She asked cautiously, mentally thinking that perhaps he had reconsidered his thoughts regarding her and found it impossible to forgive her and has finally decided to give her the cold shoulder like before. The fact that Deidara didn't reply didn't settle well with her.

As Tobi joined the table, his partner still showed no such sign and worried, Sakura stood up without finishing her food to go and talk to him instead. But Deidara strode away from the room even before she could put down her napkin.

"Deidara! Wait-" He was gone.

Sakura rushed to the door and was stopped by Kisame who blocked the doorway with his bulky body.

"Move, Kisame!" She hissed.

Kisame looked dead serious, "One wrong move and..."

Patience ran low and she interrupted him, "And you'll kill me! I know! I know! I'm not stupid! Now move your ass!" She shrieked in annoyance.

Kisame smirked but let the insolence pass as he stepped away from the door.

Sakura stepped out into the hall and looked both ways and found no trace of Deidara. She cursed Kisame for getting in her way. Expanding her chakra, she searched for Deidara's familiar one and found that it was hidden well. Impatient and irritated by Deidara's odd behavior and his reluctance to express himself, she decided to take the right side on a whim.

She found him about twenty minutes later, just when she was about to give up on her search. He was there, standing on a corner of a room, staring at nothing.

Hesitatingly first, then confidently, she took a few steps into the room. Deidara didn't seem to mind her presence; otherwise, surely he would have left the room by now. She slowed down as she neared him, not wanting to alarm him in case he hadn't noticed her. Reaching out, she touched him arm gently, gaining his attention immediately.

"What's wrong, Deidara-san?" She asked in a whisper. There was a pause as he looked into her as if examining her thoroughly. And then slowly a bitter smile tugged at his lips as he wrenched his hand from her touch, as if burned. Sakura winced. So, it she was indeed at fault.

"What have I done this time?" She asked, looking away, feeling too cowardly to meet his eyes that would reflect a hurting soul.

The smile on his lips didn't waver as he said in an equal bitter voice, "I thought I asked you to not call me that, yeah."

She knew what he was talking about. But she had only called him 'Dediara-san' in fear that she had wronged him again and wouldn't be deemed worthy of calling him in such a familiar way. It was also an attempt of kinds to untangle herself from him.

"Deidara, then," she atoned, but he didn't say anything more.

After a while she tried again, "Is there something bothering you?"

He shook his head a little too hastily for her conviction. She frowned, "If it is me, I'm sorry. I really am."

This time Deidara smiled a smile that wasn't so bitter but a lot close to his original ones, "It's not you, yeah."

It touched her heart but she was still not very convinced. They were known for their ability of deception after all, "I wish I could believe that."

"Why can't you belie-"

She cut across and demanded outright, "Deidara, quit beating about the bush and just tell me what's wrong!"

"It's nothing, I told you, yeah!"

"Stop lying to my face!"

"I'm not, yeah!"

"Won't you tell me?"

She watched him swallow; there, she used the guilty card. He turned away from her, his back facing her. Gently, she placed her hand on his back feeling it tensing under her touch.

"What's bothering you?" She asked tenderly.

There was a long pause before Deidara sighed and huffed in defeat. Sakura felt a small smile curling up to her lips.

"Itachi."

For a second she thought that Itachi was standing by the door and the blonde had just acknowledged his presence. Blinking, she realized that wasn't it, rather 'Itachi' was the source of his troubles. She snorted to herself,_ 'Isn't he everyone's, now?'_

"What about him?"

The look of irritation that Deidara threw at her made her want to slap herself. That had been a stupid question to ask. Everything and one thing was enough about Uchiha Itachi to get under anyone's nerves.

"Forget about it, yeah." Deidara made a move to walk away but Sakura held on firmly. "I told you; just forget all this happened, yeah. Let's get back to the room before everyone gets suspicious and decides to point fingers at you, yeah."

"We are not going anywhere until we talk everything out. We have a lot to talk about, Deidara. And if we don't start talking the things and feelings will build up-"

"I'm a killer! I'm not supposed to have feelings damn it!" Deidara's outburst made her blink and then slowly her eyes went round and big as it dawned upon her.

"F-Feelings?" She whispered.

Deidara said no more. Stonily he strode over to the door, his Akatsuki cloak billowing against the marble flooring, and like that she was left standing all alone in an empty room when Kisame came to look for her.

**SXS**

When Sakura finally dragged herself to the room that she was supposed to share with Itachi, it was past midnight. After Kisame had found her, he had politely invited her to their room to have a drink or two. Deidara was there of course, and she had indulged herself in more than Kisame had expected her capable of.

"I must say, didn't expect someone so small and weak to hold in so much. Aren't you full of surprises?" Kisame had commented about her drinking.

She had waved him off and slurred, "You haven't seen nothin'. I'm the Hokage's apprentice; sure I know how to hold my liquor." And then drank some more. In the end Kisame had passed out, leaving her to drag her wasted body to her own room.

Reaching the door that she thought were hers, she fumbled with the knob and staggered into the room. The room was not entirely plunged into the shadows, but lit in a rather soothing shade of dim blue which suit Sakura's hazy eyes just fine. Everything around her seemed to spin, suddenly making her stop on her tracks.

When she somewhat recovered, unsteady on her feet, she approached the bed, not taking any notice of its already occupant staring at her with narrowed red eyes. Groaning, she flopped on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers, and closed her eyes in order to give in to the wooziness that overcame her.

"Where have you been?" The dark voice lost all its menace to Sakura's drunken ears but didn't fail to make her almost jump out of her skin. Her heart didn't have the energy to race.

"'Tachi-san..." She slurred.

"Have you been drinking with Kisame?" There was something akin to disapproval in his voice, but Sakura couldn't be sure.

"Hm," she only made a sound. Her mind protested against all the questionnaire, wanting to just drift off in peace; she had had a long day. Immediately her mind was drawn back to Deidara's outburst earlier in the day. She giggled not caring that she was in the company of an international S-ranked criminal and giggling was hardly appropriate at the circumstances.

"Is there something wrong?" Itachi sounded like he was unsure, the closest she has heard him to be anything other than nonchalant or cold.

She giggled again, "Everything is wrong, 'Tachi-san. Can't you see?" Her eyes blinked open struggling against the dim lighting that was too sharp for her sight. "I'm a mess," her voice broke, despair creeping up to her fast, "Oh, what must everyone think of me?" She moaned.

There was a pregnant pause. Of course even Itachi couldn't predict the likes of Naruto, as vigilant as he was. Besides, what was she even expecting? Itachi sympathizing with her? Comfort her? Her mood took another 360 degree swing and she found herself laughing hard about the thought of Uchiha Itachi comforting anyone.

'_He's a cold-blooded killer, you brainless git!'_ She screamed at her mind harshly.

"Someone who betrays their comrades," Whatever attention her hazy mind was capable of, was directed at Itachi, "is surely to suffer a terrible fate."

Was he telling her off? Her mind had to put quite an effort to distinguish the meaning that the words held. Or did Itachi just tell her that she was going to suffer a terrible fate?

She threw a reproachful look at his direction.

Itachi held her gaze with his mesmerizing crimson one, "And what are your comrades, if they cannot even judge you for who you are?"

It sounded like a challenge to her which she would have questioned with passion if she had been on the right track of mind, no doubt. However, Sakura's thoughts were more drawn to the way how the elder Uchiha's long hair have come loose from its tie and trailed down to his strong jaw line and about how absolutely delicious he looked staring down at her with an intensity that made her insides squirm.

She sighed, literally having to tear her eyes from the man that was too hot for his own good, "I'll take the couch."

"That's unnecessary; the bed is big enough for the both of us."

Sakura found that she was too worn-out to insist otherwise. Shock evaded her senses as sleep had already crashed deep upon her when Itachi sighed and pulled the sheets over both of them, making sure that she was properly covered as well.

Because Uchiha Itachi sure all hell doesn't tuck anyone in.

To be continued...

**A/N**_**: **__Ah, this chapter took much thinking. Because you know, I'd to find a valid reason to make them end up in the same room...so that Itachi's offer to share the bed sounded like him, not some hormonal teenager. _

_Anyways, there are some guest reviewers who have some questions, and since I don't have the option of PM-ing them personally, I'm going to have to answer those here. _

_Someone mentioned that Sakura is being weak, and does she not have the byakugo seal here. Well, she doesn't, because this story follows a timeline far earlier than the war (where she actually gets the seal). As for her seeming weak, well, that is what I'm writing and working on right, character development._

_Someone mentioned that reading this reminds them of another ItaSaku story, and I suppose that is only because great minds think alike! Loool, kidding! Maybe because that story also follows the Sakura-gets-kidnapped plot, but yeah I'm trying my best to set apart this story from all the others._

_Okay, moving on, to those of you who are actually enjoying this story THANKS A LOT for sharing your thoughts about it! I know I don't update as frequently as you people probably want me to, BUT I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS!_

_So please do review and let me know your thoughts!_

_3_


	10. A Kunoichi's Resolve

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 10  
**A Kunoichi's Resolve

* * *

As expected, Sakura woke up with one of her worst hangover so far. Looking around, she found that it was pretty late in the morning and that obviously meant the elder Uchiha had already left the room. Itachi was an early person, she had noticed, so different from herself. Given that she had the time to waste; Sakura on the other hand could go on sleeping forever.

She was in the middle of expressing her gratitude to the heavens, that thank god she won't have to deal with an Uchiha while nursing a nasty hangover, when Tobi came bounding, knocking off the door from its hinge obviously and announcing, "Good morning Kunoichi-san! Itachi-san told Tobi to tell Kunoichi-san that everyone is leaving and that Kunoichi-san should meet everyone in the lobby within half an hour."

The racket echoed across the traverse of her mind and she groaned.

"Is Kunoichi-san alright?"

She grunted, clutching her head, "Leave."

"Is there anything Tobi could do to help-"

She chucked the nearest thing she could find at the bewildered boy, effectively cutting his highly high pitched voice off.

'_Ahh, that's better.'_

"Is Kunoichi-" Tobi began again hesitatingly.

"ARGH! JUST LEAVE!" She screamed, contributing to her own pain.

As soon as Tobi left, she took a moment to look up at the heavens and muttered, "Never mind."

And then remembering the message from Itachi and knowing that the Uchiha wouldn't appreciate being behind the schedule, she dragged herself off the bed grudgingly. Maybe she should pretend to be late and that way Itachi will be mad enough to leave her behind.

'_Or mad enough to punish you,'_ her mind barked. Sakura arched a brow, what got her Inner in such a bad mood?

Finding some pain-killers in the cabinet, Sakura stuffed a couple of them in her mouth and gulped. Then she took a hasty shower and dressed in her usual attire. She was glad that the appalling cloth of red and black was nowhere in sight; she really detested it.

All packed and ready, she left the room and wondered which way to go.

"Hmm..." She tried to remember the direction from yesterday but there was only a spike of pain in her head.

Noting that the pain-killers had close to no effect in putting her mind to peace, Sakura concentrated her healing chakra to her palm. She pressed her fingers to the sides of her head as she chose a random direction and began walking. The change was immediate. The pain vanished to leave behind a soft, content smile tugging at her lips. Ah, definitely much better!

But the peace was momentary because the events from the previous day crashed in, making her stop in her tracks.

**-Flashback-**

"**What's bothering you?" She asked tenderly. **

**There was a long pause before Deidara sighed and huffed in defeat. Sakura felt a small smile curling up to her lips. **

"**Itachi."**

**For a second she thought that Itachi was standing by the door and the blonde had just acknowledged his presence. Blinking, she realized that wasn't it, rather 'Itachi' was the source of his troubles. She snorted to herself,**_** 'Isn't he everyone's, now?'**_

"**What about him?"**

**The look of irritation that Deidara threw at her made her want to slap herself. That had been a stupid question to ask. Everything and one thing was enough about Uchiha Itachi to get under anyone's nerves.**

"**Forget about it, yeah." Deidara made a move to walk away but Sakura held on firmly. "I told you; just forget all this happened, yeah. Let's get back to the room before everyone gets suspicious and decides to point fingers at you, yeah."**

"**We are not going anywhere until we talk everything out. We have a lot to talk about, Deidara. And if we don't start talking the things and feelings will build up-"**

"**I'm a killer! I'm not supposed to have feelings damn it!" Deidara's outburst made her blink and then slowly her eyes went round and big as it dawned upon her.**

"**F-Feelings?" She whispered. **

**Deidara said no more. Stonily he strode over to the door, his Akatsuki cloak billowing against the marble flooring, and like that she was left standing all alone in an empty room.**

**-End of Flashback-**

Right. So she was back at square one with Deidara all over again. It made her want to scream. This was all so frustrating!

And what exactly did Deidara mean by his little outburst? That he was suddenly...feeling? Well, there was nothing to be so worked up about as far as she could see. They were humans who are bound to have feelings...

'_Except that they are Akatsuki! They don't do all that feeling crap! They are inhuman!'_ her Inner was kind enough to remind her.

Deidara was like the closest-to-normal Akatsuki she met, without a puppet body or a childish disorder or blue-tinged skin or a stick pushed up his ass. And here he was proving to be the most impulsive one. Yes, even more unpredictable than Itachi. Because with Itachi she could tell that he is almost never moved by anything and is a cold killing-machine who probably has a superior-complex and a long, long stick pushed up his ass. But Deidara, as nice and bright he is, he is extremely impulsive. Heck, Deidara was making even Kisame seem so much more of a pleasant character in comparison.

Talking about Kisame, wasn't he the one who dragged her into all that extreme drinking? He is to be blamed for everything that happened between Itachi and her! Sakura decided she should have his head.

Wait...what exactly had happened again?

**-Flashback-**

"**Where have you been?" The dark voice lost all its menace to Sakura's drunken ears but didn't fail to make her almost jump out of her skin. Her heart didn't have the energy to race. **

"'**Tachi-san..." she slurred. **

"**Have you been drinking with Kisame?" There was something akin to disapproval in his voice, but Sakura couldn't be sure. **

"**Hm," she only made a sound. Her mind protested against all the questionnaire, wanting to just drift off in peace; she had had a long day. Immediately her mind was drawn back to Deidara's outburst earlier in the day. She giggled not caring that she was in the company of an international S-ranked criminal and giggling was hardly appropriate at the circumstances. **

"**Is there something wrong?" Itachi sounded like he was unsure, the closest she has heard him to be anything other than nonchalant or cold. **

**She giggled again, "Everything is wrong, 'Tachi-san. Can't you see?" Her eyes blinked open struggling against the dim lighting that was too sharp for her sight. "I'm a mess," her voice broke, despair creeping up to her fast, "Oh, what must everyone think of me?" She moaned. **

**There was a pregnant pause. Of course even Itachi couldn't predict the likes of Naruto, as vigilant as he was. Besides, what was she even expecting? Itachi sympathizing with her? Comfort her? Her mood took another 360 degree swing and she found herself laughing hard about the thought of Uchiha Itachi comforting anyone. **

'_**He's a cold-blooded killer, you brainless git!'**_** she screamed at her mind harshly. **

"**Someone who betrays their comrades," whatever attention her hazy mind was capable of, was directed at Itachi, "is surely to suffer a terrible fate."**

**Was he telling her off? Her mind had to put quite an effort to distinguish the meaning that the words held. Or did Itachi just tell her that she was going to suffer a terrible fate?**

**She threw a reproachful look at his direction. **

**Itachi held her gaze with his mesmerizing crimson one, "And what are your comrades, if they cannot even judge you for who you are?"**

**It sounded like a challenge to her which she would have questioned with passion if she had been on the right track of mind, no doubt. However, Sakura's thoughts were more drawn to the way how the elder Uchiha's long hair have come loose from its tie and trailed down to his strong jaw line and about how absolutely delicious he looked staring down at her with an intensity that made her insides squirm. **

**She sighed, literally having to tear her eyes from the man that was too hot for his own good, "I'll take the couch."**

"**That's unnecessary; the bed is big enough for the both of us."**

**-End of Flashback-**

By the time Sakura arrived at the lobby, her face had lost all its color. And she didn't even remember the part where the elder Uchiha had tucked her in since she was already fast asleep as soon as her eyelids had dropped shut.

But no one made any reference to her ashen color; if Kisame was there maybe he would have made a sarcastic remark, but he was nowhere to be seen. He was most certainly busy in nursing the after-effects of last night.

After nodding at the ever stoic Uchiha's direction, she tried to catch Deidara's eyes but the blond bomb-artist seemed to be content at avoiding her eyes as he stood there brooding.

Oh, will things ever be right between her and Deidara? One day they were best of chums and the next they wouldn't even look at each other. She pursued her lips and decided that Deidara should be the one to apologize this time around. Walking out on a girl was not the most chivalrous thing he could have done.

She took a peek at Itachi out of the corner of her eye. He was as usual aloof and cold, betraying nothing, true to his Uchiha name. But she could see a hint of impatience in the way his eye narrowed at having to wait for Kisame who still wasn't there.

What he said last night was too much for her drunken hazed mind to fully comprehend.

"_**Someone who betrays their comrade is surely to suffer a terrible fate." **_

Of course, it hadn't been out of sympathy or the need to comfort her that he had said those words. He had just merely stated them- the cold, bitter truth. Perhaps he meant it as nothing, but Itachi hardly struck to her like someone who would say something without the absolute need to. So it couldn't have been nothing. Perhaps he had said that out of pity, trying to make her accept the reality lest she started to lie to herself and spend her life on a pillar of lies. Who knows what goes on behind that pretty head of Uchiha Itachi? Sakura, for one had not the slightest clue.

"_**And what are your comrades, if they cannot even judge you for who you are?"**_

This was much simpler for her to understand. How can her comrades be called as comrades, if they can doubt her faith so easily at the first chance they get? Naruto would never do that. Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, Tsunade all knows just how much she loved Konoha and how far she is willing to go for its cause. They wouldn't lose their faith in her or give up on her. They would know that something was wrong and try to get her out of here...

'_They will, won't they?'_

After all, it was from Naruto and Kakashi and Tsunade that she has learned this sense of loyalty from, even at the cost of her everything. They'll understand, she was sure.

'_They will, won't they?'_

Except things weren't so simple. She didn't even know anymore what her everything really was!

Kisame walked in, a frown on his forehead and looking very beat up. Serves him right, Sakura thought to herself.

"Finally!" She faked a high-pitched voice, just to torture him.

"Argh! Pinky, can you be any louder!" He grumbled, clutching his head in the awful hangover that he brought over himself.

"Sure I can," Sakura chirped in an even louder pitch. She decided that she was going to give him hell. After all, he was the reason why she has a ton more to think about than her already shitty load.

**SXS**

Once they had begun their journey, everyone had fallen to a comfortable silence. Itachi was mute by nature, and Kisame didn't have any other choice because his own words pained him. Even Tobi wasn't feeling very chatty. And Deidara wasn't travelling on foot probably because airborne on one of his bird creations, avoiding Sakura was much easier since she couldn't actually call out to him and tell him that she was tired of this temperamental 'friendship' that they had and demand that he explain himself.

As a matter of fact, it suited her just fine, she discovered, because she didn't have to worry about broaching the topic first and trying to sort things out between them. Instead, she could concentrate on the other things that were heaped upon her must-think-about list.

Like the highly perplexing thoughts about a particular Uchiha.

Sakura didn't even know where to start. When it came to Itachi, she was so confused. He didn't give away anything and it was impossible for the likes of her to understand what went behind that pretty head of his. Oh, what wouldn't she give to know the truth behind that mask that he had carved for himself; one lie after another, no doubt.

But even more than her want to know him, Sakura wanted to understand herself better at first. Because at the rate things were going, she could barely recognize herself in all these. Everything in her life has become so complicated on such a short notice that she literally felt like getting caught in a current and being whirled around without a will; on a whim. And the feeling didn't bode well with her. She wanted to sort out her own thoughts, even if for the sake of her own sanity.

'_Let's start with the basics,'_ she said to herself, _'I'm Haruno Sakura from Leaf, or rather __**was**__ from the Leaf,'_ she heaved a loud sigh. This wasn't helping.

She decided to give it another go, trying not to be overwhelmed by the depressing turn that her life has taken.

She had already been kidnapped by the Akatsuki for six days and was being held as a captive until she agreed to do what they asked of her, to perform a highly complex healing session for the likes of them. She had refused of course, like the loyal kunoichi she was to her country, but in the end they or rather Itachi, had found a way to blackmail her into agreeing to do this.

First he had acted as a gentleman would do, which was surprising coming from a mass-murderer, and presented the proposal to her for her consideration. She had refused. He had given her another chance. She had refused again. And so she had refused his words once, twice, thrice, and had managed to live by some miracle. Itachi had then threatened her which by another miracle hadn't worked. He had blackmailed her with her very logic when she had healed Deidara after swearing that she would never heal an Akatsuki. He had threatened her again and again. And then he had tried to seduce her, a trap that she had been very close into succumbing. But all had failed against her unmoving loyalty for her village.

In the end, Itachi had used her love for her very village and her comrades, and in his twisted way had her give up on her resolve. She had agreed to do what they asked, if they showed mercy to her fellow comrade. In the end, it had gone just the way Itachi had wanted and he had won.

But Itachi didn't care for how many ideals that he stepped on or how many hearts he crushed or how many emotions he manipulated, as long as he got what he wanted. And true to himself, on his way to triumph, Itachi had turned her whole world upside down. To the point that she didn't even know what she was doing.

Her loyalty for Konoha was tarnished. She had agreed to help her village's mortal enemy, not to mention that they were also the very ones whose mission was to suck the very life out of her best friend and crush the shinobi world along with her beloved Konoha.

Her ideals both as a kunoichi and a medic were shattered and stepped all over as she had healed two of their enemies. Along the way she had found a friend in one of the renowned S-class criminal, a friendship which seemed to be hanging by the thread every other day. She joked around with someone as deadly as Kisame. She was attracted to Uchiha-freaking-Itachi. She was beginning to enjoy the company of people who enjoyed killing people. Heck, she found Tobi adorable!

Just how much more twisted could this get?

Apparently, a lot more. She had willingly declared with her own lips that she betrayed Konoha for Akatsuki, no matter the truth that she could never think of doing such a thing and was being forced to do it.

And what was worse, was her promise to herself. That she would make sure that Itachi was her reason to live, now that he had taken everything away from her. It was her revenge.

She sighed; it was getting too difficult for her to think so much so again she decided to remind herself the basics.

'_I'm Haruno Sakura, a loyal kunoichi of Konoha by heart but have to act otherwise for the greater good. I've sold my soul to the devil. AnUchihadevil.'_

Right now she had nothing to lose, and by some miracle, it didn't make tears spring to her eyes.

'_I guess people are designed to cope with even the worst of situations,' _she thought to herself bitterly.

Suddenly she was reminded of the popular saying: Time heals.

Was that what was happening to her? She was healing?

She sighed once again, and this time it caught Kisame's attention who was obviously recovering because he called out, "Everything alright, Pinky?"

Sakura just waved her hand dismissively, "Fine."

Kisame looked over his shoulder as he continued to sped across the thick foliage, "Sure you're not feeling homesick?"

This earned him a glare and a growl; was he deliberately taunting her?

He snickered, "Thought so. I don't get how you put up with such sentimental fools. If it were me..."

Sakura cut him off furiously, "I'm not you, am I?"

He chuckled, "Point well made, Pinky. I for one don't have some ridiculous pink hair."

"That's rich coming from someone with blue skin!" Her nose flared, "And don't you dare call my friends 'sentimental fools'. Forgive them for wanting to be a little human in this world of _inhumanity_." She stressed out the last word, a look of utter disgust pointed at all of them.

Kisame looked her in the eye and for some reason it looked to her like his expression had softened, before turning to look at Itachi who was a long way ahead and called out to him, "You were right, her loyalty is remarkable." He again looked back at her over his shoulder and grinned at her, "I like it, Pinky."

Sakura nearly choked.

For the first time since last day, Sakura heard Deidara speak out from above, "Ask him why, yeah."

Sakura's head snapped skyward. Deidara's bird had swooped low enough for him to leap down and maintain a pace with her.

She gave him a look of astonishment and murmured, "So you're talking to me again?"

Deidara didn't reply, but looked sideways at her and then made a noise at the back of his throat before clearing his throat and repeated, "Ask him why he likes your loyalty so much, yeah."

Sakura wondered why Kisame was frowning at Deidara, or why the blonde was smirking. In the end curiosity got the better of her.

She asked the shark-nin, "Why?"

She was sure by the way that Kisame was glaring at the bomb-artist, that he wouldn't satisfy her curiosity. It was obviously not something that he liked talking about. But he surprised her when he spoke, "Deidara is referring to the incident that led to my betrayal of my village."

Her ears perked up with interest that was obviously not hidden very well, because Kisame's frown disappeared as he looked at her and broke into a grin, "Curious now, are we, Pinky?"

She had to purse her lips to stop herself from retorting lest he took offense and decided not to tell whatever he was going to tell.

Kisame seemed to choose to not torture her today and simply shrugged as if it was nothing and told, "I decided to kill my subordinates in order to ensure that information didn't leak out when my platoon ran into Ibiki Morino's."

Sakura gasped, her eyes wide, "Ibiki-san?"

Kisame's jaw tightened but he didn't say anything more. But Sakura wasn't content and in all her eagerness to know more, she ventured, "And then Kiri just threw you out?" She could imagine that happening.

Kisame laughed abruptly as if he found something highly amusing, "No," he barked, grimacing, "The Mizukage commended me for my act of 'loyalty' to Kiri."

This was not what she was expecting, "What?" She exclaimed.

"I told him that I no longer considered myself loyal to the village while I was killing my fellow comrades."

Sakura was astounded; she had always thought that Kisame had to defect from his village for some mass-murder case or worse, and now to find out that he had once been loyal to his village to the point of...

Touched, she gushed, "So you defected and joined Akatsuki?"

Kisame simply shrugged, no longer keen on sharing further information about himself. But Sakura had enough to smile for the first time in a while, "So does this mean that your loyalty lies wholly with Akatsuki?"

Kisame gave her a sharp look and she found herself grinning. Oh, how different they were from what people imagined them to be. Smiling and cherry after a long time, she turned towards Deidara, "And what about you, Deidara?"

She watched in puzzlement as Deidara froze, obviously reconsidering his choice to start talking to her. Sakura bit her lips in apprehension and said hurriedly, "Gomen. I didn't realize-"

Kisame's bark of laughter interrupted her, drawing her attention to him.

"Oh, Pinky. Don't worry, he talks about his past often enough. He is trying to be dramatic and impress-"

Dediara's bomb missed Kisame by an inch. The blond glared at the shark-nin as he howled in laughter.

"Impress what, Deidara?" she asked, too curious for her own good.

"It's nothing, yeah," Deidara said, refusing to stop glaring at Kisame.

"Won't you tell me?" she echoed from their previous conversation; she had persuaded him to talk with these very words. Deidara's eyes widened a fraction and she could tell by his expression that he was remembering the same thing.

Slowly he sighed and said, "I worked at the Iwa Explosion Corps and craved a secret kinjutsu that was passed down in Iwa: a techinique that allows a person to knead chakra into substances, yeah," He turned his palms and started at it for a long time before continuing; "I violated the law and stole it. As the Exploding Clay I had used for the first time detonated and took down my pursuers, I saw the art I'd desired: the Art of a Single Moment, yeah."

Deidara seemed to get lost in his own thoughts and Kisame was the one who fed her curiosity from there, "Akatsuki got wind of him and Sasori, Itachi and I were asked to track him down and convince him to join us." Kisame glanced at his stoic partner who was far ahead of them, "Barbie here didn't want to, but had no choice but to once he lost in his challenge to Itachi."

"I-Itachi?" she squeaked. This held more than she thought it would. All of a sudden she was more interested than ever... She was very keen to know every little thing she could about the elder Uchiha, but figuring out Itachi was as difficult a work to everyone as to her. However, Kisame was the one person who knew him for the longest, almost a decade now.

Kisame's lips thinned but he continued anyways, "Itachi challenged him in a fight which, if Deidara had won, we would have left him the hell alone."

"Obviously I lost," Deidara joined in the conversation, his voice was laced with a bitterness that she didn't even know existed.

The conversation with him from the day before flitted in her mind; he had said that Itachi was the one bothering him. Everything seemed a bit clearer to her now. Itachi was the reason why Deidara had to join Akatsuki against his will. Itachi was also the one who almost killed Deidara when he was out for her blood. Itachi was also the one giving Deidara a frequent dose of his superior-complexity. It made sense for Deidara to feel that Itachi was ruining his life.

Hell, even she blamed Itachi for ruining Sasuke's life and so indirectly hers and Naruto's. And she was certain that there were more than enough people who felt the same way towards Itachi to send him straight to hell. She sighed.

"What about you, Pinky?" Kisame asked making her jump out of her own thoughts.

"Huh?"

"What's the story behind your devotion?" He sounded as bit curious as she had sounded about them.

She smiled a sad smile and answered truthfully, "There isn't much to tell, Kisame-san."

Both Deidara and Kisame gave her placid looks that made her uncomfortable if anything. Shifting her legs, she explained it the best she could, "There's no meaning to a flower unless it's blooming." She echoed.

There was a heartbeat of pause and she looked down at her feet, trying not to feel so down. But the words reminded her of Ino; Ino had been the one to tell her those words when they were younger...

"And a fine art is the beauty of that single, fleeting moment, yeah."

Sakura's eyes snapped back up to meet Deidara's unfathomable cerulean ones. A warm feeling rushed up to her chest. Deidara seemed to know what to say to make her feel better.

She came to an abrupt halt on the next tree branch. "Oh, what must Naruto think of me?" She moaned in anguish, her real anxiety voiced for the first time. She brought her hands to cover her face in shame.

Her cry brought the rest of them to a halt as well. Suddenly, Itachi, who was far, far ahead of them, was standing right before her, making her hands drop from her face with a start. Staring into her pools of unending green with such an intensity that made her forget everything around them; for a moment there was only Itachi and her.

Then she saw it; it was slight, but the stillness of his black orbs wavered. However, his voice betrayed nothing when he spoke, "Your loyalty to Konoha is very admirable. But if it is indeed true, you need not worry. Surely your comrades have a high opinion of you."

A moment of comfortable silence enveloped them all and for a slight moment everything felt alright; like her life wasn't ruined, like this was all not a huge mistake and a sin that she was committing, like this was the right thing that she was doing. Like beside Itachi, like this, was the right place for her to be...

And then, just like it, hell broke over.

Sakura was given just a millisecond to process as squad of shinobi burst out of the forest seemingly unaware of their presence since they all had their chakra cloaked and before her head could snap around or she could turn around to see who it was, most importantly _which_ country they belonged to, Itachi moved in front pushing her aside.

"Deidara, take the girl," he snarled, moving fathomlessly towards the enemy.

"Shit!" one of the unknown enemy cussed.

"It's _Akatsuki_!"

She heard another spat the word with so much disgust and clarity that it broke her heart.

She wanted to tell them that they were wrong, that these people were just as much human as any of them were. She wanted to tell the world that these people were also people, no matter how much they tried to act otherwise, that they too did what they had to do to survive like all other shinobi. She wanted to scream at the world that this wasn't fair, that these people were also faithful to their own cause. She wanted to let the world know what she was so conflicted about, that she had grown to care about them, as selfish, rowdy, deadly or evil they may appear. She liked the goodness in Deidara, the sweetness in Tobi, the funny bone in Kisame and the perfection that was Itachi.

As her mind raced, the enemies had already begun to shower them with attacks instead of fleeing as their mind had insisted on, no doubt. She craned her head in an attempt to catch a look of the enemy's nationality, but both Kisame and Itachi seemed to be blocking her view as they took their stances. A fight had already broken out; a fight with two lucid victors.

"Come on," Deidara pulled at her hand, his other hand busy constructing a clay bird. The bird was ready in a second and its creator leaped up on it with ease, turning to give her a hand.

She caught a glimpse of them as she climbed onto Deidara's pet bird, enough to send her into a panic. Their masks and dark heavy garbs obscured their identity. But the insignia on their headbands were unmistakable, effectively making her blood run cold. Her head reeled as she struggled to keep herself from downright fainting.

Leaf.

If they knew her or had even heard of her, they were bound to recognize her unmistakable pink hair. And... And... She couldn't go on any longer.

Once already she had asked, begged Itachi to spare Genma's life in return of her cooperation. This time, she was afraid, there was nothing remaining for her to offer in exchange of their lives. This time she couldn't save them. This time Itachi wouldn't spare them. This time she could only stand by and watch as the elder Uchiha and his partner brought down their weapons upon her fellow comrades, perhaps a friend even.

"Deidara," she managed to choke out, "Get me out of here."

Her blond friend pulled her up in front on him and the great white bird made out of clay and powered by chakra began to shoot up higher and higher into the sky. Sakura tried her best to glue her eyes skywards and not look below where blood curling screams were going off right and left.

"Oi, Taichou, that's Haruno!"

"On the bird?"

"Yes, yes, pink hair. That's her!"

"Taicho, what should we do?"

"She is to be killed on sight, orders."

More blood curling screams resonated throughout the forest. But Sakura didn't look down; she kept her eyes trained on the sky, watching a flock of birds flying out from the forest, their panicked cries getting lost among the screams of pain. But her mind wasn't anywhere near focused on the birds or the sky. She heard the words ring in her ears nice and clear over and over again.

_Thump._

"_**She is to be killed on sight, orders."**_

_Thump._

"_**She is to be killed on sight, orders."**_

_Thump._

"_**She is to be killed on sight, orders."**_

_Thump._

Her heart squeezed painfully, making it difficult to breathe. Something inside her snapped. Hurt, disappointment, rage, betrayal, all raced inside her, too fast for her to control. And worst of all she didn't even want to control it.

"Deidara, let me down." The evenness of her voice even surprised her.

_Thump._

"Sakura-chan-" he began warily. She tensed at the name. Without fail, each time he uttered her name that way, she was reminded of Konoha and everything she had been forced to leave behind; now more than ever. Fury rolling through her she paused, and then reached out to snag the neckline of his red and black robe and yanked him close to her.

_Thump._

"NOW!" she hissed.

His brilliant blue eyes widened as the tip of their noses touched. Even through her anger, she grew uncomfortably aware of just how close her action had brought them. Yet she held on until he nodded slightly, his lips pulled thin. Manipulating his chakra to lower the bird enough for Sakura to leap down on the forest, Deidara looked worriedly as the pink-haired kunoichi stalked over to where the noises came from.

Sakura could see the anger reflected in Itachi's narrowed red orbs, directed at her or at Deidara as she neared them. He seemed livid at being defied.

_Thump._

'_He thinks that I'll try to stop him from killing them,'_ she smirked, biting down on her lips.

Kisame was too caught up in his sword dance to take more notice than a few seconds. She could feel his curiosity about her presence there. But it was Itachi's gaze that she held as she slowly sunk to a crouch, her eyes taking on a cold, determined glaze and all expressions left her face; a very similar mask to the one that Itachi always wore without a fail.

She saw it in his eyes; the realization of what she intended to do reflected in them. Now she was someone who had nothing to lose, she stole a glance at the stoic Uchiha...

'_...but perhaps have everything to gain.'_ she couldn't help the sly smile that crossed her lips at this.

_Thump._

There were a few of them left and they looked on baffled by what was going on. The ground was littered with lifeless bodies, far beyond her help.

_Thump._

And once again, like earlier right before the commotion had broken out, Itachi was right there looming over her faster than the wind. Itachi looked her in the eye and it felt like he was seeing through her very soul. And again, for a moment there was only Itachi and her and no one else.

_Thump. Thump._

His voice was calm as ever, soothing even, "Are you sure, kunoichi?"

_Thump. Thump._

She teetered on the brink of insanity, as she snapped, her eyes gleaming in a vicious hue of emerald, "I've a name, Uchiha-san," her jade green eyes smoldering, "It is Haruno Sakura."

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

The look that crossed through his face was a look that she would never forget.

She didn't think anyone had ever looked Uchiha Itachi in the eyes and gathered the guts to tell him to address them with their name before.

To be continued...

**A/N: **_So I made Sakura turn against Konoha in her rage...Should I go jump off the roof or try to make this right again, somehow or another? I don't know. This is an ItaSaku fic, things are bound to NOT end up perfectly. I think you all come to read ItaSaku stories with that in mind. Right? _

_Right, right? : /_


	11. The Voice in the Head

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 11  
**The Voice in the Head

* * *

Everything seemed to happen in a blurred rush after the encounter with the Leaf Shinobi.

Deidara and Tobi had silently taken off on one of the blonde's clay bird. As the bird had risen higher and higher above the ground, Sakura kept her eyes to the ground, not finding the heart to look up with the keenness that she usually felt about Deidara's strangely interesting ability. She was more scared of the look of worry mixed with pity that Deidara was sure to throw at her. She was scared that it would make her break into heart welting sobs. She couldn't have that now, not when she had come so far.

When Deidara's big white bird was nothing more than a dot in the sky, Kisame had just nodded at his partner and they had sauntered off to a distance, conversing in hushed tones. Kisame didn't try to catch her eyes like Deidara did, for which she was thankful to the shark-man.

She couldn't bear to look into anyone's eyes. She couldn't bear the image that she would see reflected in the depths of their eyes. A white gaunt face, with dark circles under her emerald eyes which were far too lifeless to belong to a sane person...

But what scared her was the coldness in her eyes; it reminded her of Sasuke- how petrified she had been when she had seen him regard them with his eyes for the first time after so long. She knew it would reflect the monster that she had become in this little amount of time. The very same monster that had killed fellow shinobis of Leafs in cold blood...

As if a switch was flicked open, Sakura's vision swirled around her in hues of the light of the setting sun and the dark brown notes of the looming trees, pain exploding in her head like her brain had started swelling. She gasped and pressed her hand on a tree for support, squeezing her eyes closed to try and keep the nausea from getting the better of her.

'_No! No, no, no...'_

'_What done is done,'_ she repeated the line over and over again in her mind. Strangely, Inner didn't retort or speak at all as a matter of fact. And for once in a long while, Sakura wanted nothing more than to hear the faint voice of her Inner self; her scorn would be bearable, welcome even, than these overwhelming tide of emotions that she struggled to keep at bay.

Feeling breached her being as her knees started to buckle, arms feeling as heavy as lead and head so light that she felt like it could have just floated away. When she tried to focus her vision on the blurry mass that was the forest, everything around it then kept turning steeply from side to side. Every little thing seemed heightened to her now despite the range of sensations that slowly crept up to her.

Deep inside her core she felt the dull, stabbing pain as her stomach started to churn and hurriedly tried to counter it; the sharp flex stinging her throat as she tried to fight the sensations. Cold sweat started breaking out. Feeling the dampness on her forehead, arms and legs as the acrid stench of bile rose in her throat, she opened her mouth to suck in a deep breath, hoping desperately that it would work.

The first heave made her cover mouth, not wanting to interrupt the partners engaged in deep conversation few yards away, and effectively muting the retching sound as she gagged. The pain was just agonizing as her ears started to ring from the pressure inside her head. Letting go of the tree, she dropped on the floor of the forest. Sakura mustered all remaining strength and clasped both white hands to her mouth as the heave subsided temporarily, offering the briefest relief.

'_Please, not here!'_

Another bout unpleasantly washed over her and she could feel the blood draining from her face when the feeling returned with full force. Tears started forming in her eyes, sliding down her face as the second round, too, subsided for the moment. Her body, burnt out, was too weak to handle the attack against itself and left her trembling on the cold ground beneath her knees. Nothing. Her body refused to give up anything in spite of the sharp sensations that kept hitting her. She didn't know what felt worse, actually vomiting or feeling like vomiting.

She glanced at the direction of Itachi and Kisame; who knew what they were talking about. All she knew was that she couldn't suffer another of this vomit attacks. Before she could take another decent breath, her gut gave another painfully dry heave. Pink hair wet with sweat and dirt, brushed the ground as she silently bent over and choked on the gag, trying to be as silent as she could.

She hated this helplessness; she hated it with every ounce of emotion she had left. When she thought she couldn't bear it, it receded. And it was like she could breath for the first time as Sakura straightened with her dull green eyes wide and full of tears, gulping large gasps of air to regain strength to her feeble body.

She took a sharp intake of breath as she stared up to Itachi's bright crimson eyes boring into her, his face pulled into his usual impassive slate. She pulled her shaking hands away from her face, licking her parched lips in the process and trying to wet her raspy throat. She squeezed her eyes close so that the remaining tears that welled up in them, spilled over down her cheeks and ran down her neck and disappeared into the lining of her dirty red vest. She sniffed in a very un-lady like manner.

Itachi looked down at her for the longest time, his red eyes swirling unblinkingly. Sakura flinched away when his arm shot out towards her, thinking that it was intended to hit her. She squeezed her eyes shut as her heart thundered against her chest, as if wanting to rip out of it. Scrunching her brows, she slowly opened her eyes a moment afterwards, her vision having improved a great deal from before. Itachi was still looming over her like some over-grown bat.

She noted his toe nails colored similarly in metallic purple as his fingernails, through his half-opened sandals. She hadn't noticed that before. She slowly dragged her eyes up north, her eyes taking in every minute detail of his perfect contour. Her gaze rested on his outstretched arm, her brain sluggishly comprehending the implications behind it, as her heart quivered making her gasp unceremoniously.

'_Itachi...'_

Was this the same Itachi that she had met a few days earlier for the very first time? She looked up to check and found herself unable to look away. Her heart seemed to have leaped up to her throat.

"I think I'm fine on my own, Itachi-san," She found herself replying in a voice that she barely recognized.

"You don't want my help?" The Uchiha wondered out loud, looking away and withdrawing his outstretched hand briefly, to run it through his hair. She stared wondering what was wrong with him, and watched him nod at Kisame over his shoulder, who just disappeared without a word.

And then he looked back at her. Sakura realized she might want to eat her words when he approached her in deliberately slow steps. Itachi gave her a look which, if he had been anyone else, Sakura could have written it off as anything. But since this was Itachi, it only made her feel discomfited.

"I'd like to continue our journey," she murmured instead, still nowhere near able to meet his gaze that she felt burning through her very soul. It made her squirm even in a situation like this, where it was becoming a desperate struggle to keep her crushing emotions of distress at bay.

She could feel the warmth radiating off him within their proximity as he stooped down beside her. She could smell the fire and soot mingled with his natural aroma of sandalwood mixed with a tang of masculinity.

"It's rude to stare," she blurted out bluntly, her mind too disoriented from her mouth to take notice of her slip. Clearly, she couldn't keep her thoughts apart from the words she said. In fact she didn't even consider her words until she felt Itachi's eyes no longer trained on her.

'_Oh! Has he realized that he has been making me uncomfortable? About time.' _

'_No,_' suddenly Inner was back with her nose flaring, _'You just told him that staring at someone is rude.'_

She was aghast. For the first time she found herself peeking up at the elder Uchiha with widened eyes. Shit! She had certainly triggered some horrible fate upon her; you can't tell Uchiha Itachi what is rude and what is not! You just can't.

But by some miracle Itachi didn't look irritated as she had thought he would. Nor did he exactly look like he would kill her. She didn't dare let go of the breath that she was holding in; pissing of Itachi wasn't exactly on top of her agenda right now. Surviving this mess probably was though.

And to guarantee her survival, she had to make it absolutely certain that Itachi hadn't taken any offense at her thoughtless inanity. Hence, all other thoughts except the assurance of Itachi's pity were wiped out from her mind for the time being.

'_Does it really mean that much to you?'_ Inner Sakura grumbled in objection, believing that seeking Itachi's assurance was the most palpable route to hell.

'_I think I'm going to hell either way,'_ she reminded it sardonically, _'Don't you remember what Itachi said the other night? "Someone who betrays their comrades are surely to suffer a terrible fate."'_

'_I see, now we are living by his rules as well, are we?_' Her mind snapped; it didn't even wait to listen to her protest as it went back to its hibernation leaving her with her bag full of troubles.

Breathing in, she began meekly, making sure to keep her eyes to the ground, "I-Itachi-san?"

"Hn."

It seemed that he wasn't interested in looking at her way anymore. It was a good sign, Sakura told herself; she didn't think she would be able to bear it if he did look her way.

"I..." She trailed off, not sure what to say. How do you apologize to an S-class criminal? She tried again, "I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I wasn't exactly...aware of what I was saying with..." She broke off, gulping, "With everything that has happened recently."

She waited tensely for his response, her reflexes prepared for retaliation if any strike came her way. After what seemed like an eternity, Itachi merely grunted, "Hn."

Sakura's mouth fell. She had just apologized for the love of god! How inconsiderate was this jerk?

"I..." She was certain that Itachi could feel the fear that rolled off her in thick waves. For one moment she was reminded of the time when Deidara had invited her to dine with the Akatsuki for the first time, the time that she had seriously ticked Itachi off.

"Hn."

For the first time, Sakura couldn't find the will to be annoyed at the non-committal sound that always got on her nerve, even in the old days when Sasuke used to do the same. Sakura realized that she had finally found the culprit who was responsible for Sasuke's lack of vocabulary.

But for the first time, instead of working her up, it calmed her down, because it was Itachi's way of saying "no sweat" without actually saying it. She smiled. And for the first time since falling into the grasp of Akatsuki, oddly it didn't bother her. She realized that her heart and mind had finally acknowledged everything that was happening; although acceptance was far away, she was certain of that.

Out of nowhere Sakura's world was sent spinning again as another painful, gut-busting contraction cut off her air supply, withdrawing her far from her preoccupied mind. She groaned and bent forward, clutching her stomach. She felt two strong hands grip her under the arms, pulling her up from the floor, but couldn't complain.

Everything in her vision went haywire. The dark foliage, the earth, the trees, all faded from her vision. She felt a sting pass throughout her body and felt the numbing sensation creep into her system which immediately alarmed her. She stopped squirming once her vision cleared and the lamp, the mass of white which was the bed, the faded wallpaper, all came into focus.

"Where..." She trailed off, her voice faint as her eyes fluttered close against her better judgment, leaving her at the mercy of Itachi.

Subconsciously, she felt someone grab her around the waist.

"Stay awake," a voice ordered briskly as she felt herself being led to the bathroom, the cool, marble surface beneath her feet being the only thing that she could rely on to tell her where she was.

A garble noise came from her throat as a response.

'_Oh great. Shame yourself more. As if it hasn't been enough already. You're just pathetic!'_

She felt herself being positioned over the toilet, which she gripped with all the strength that she had left, trying to open her eyes against the mind numbing dizziness that engulfed her. Her cheek rested on the cool porcelain.

Somewhere, a fluorescent light had been turned on allowing her to make out a tub in front of her, but that was about everything she could take in at the moment. A shadow at the edge of her vision moved towards her. She was now wondering how much more embarrassment could she bring onto herself aside from this. And if she still could look Itachi in the eye when this ends...

'_Itachi!'_

Another dry heave gripped her insides as Itachi's strong and capable hands pulled the loose pastel pink hair which stuck to her forehead, away from her face. It felt like it forever, before she felt a strong push on her abdomen. Nothing. She choked. The elder Uchiha knelt behind her as she was pulled up to lean against him, bracing herself against his body. The hand on her abdomen pushed.

Like a switch was flicked off, Sakura blacked out.

Somewhere outside she could hear the booming thunder rolling, rain dully pelting on the tile roof. From looking up she turned her gaze down to her sticky, wet hands. Her eyes flickered towards the door in the room; the black oak was partially open that showed only the darkness beyond. Under the yellow light of the lamp, Sakura slowly recognized the place.

'_A bathroom?' _She asked herself, as if uncertain, and realizing that she had no clue as to how she got there in the first place.

She wiped her hands gingerly on the fluffy towel she was wearing, funny that she couldn't remember changing into it either; and feeling as if someone had stuffed her head full of cotton. If only Naruto could see her now. This was one bad decision after another, making her watch as her entire life fell apart bit by bit until she had nothing remaining.

"Are you regretting, Sakura?" It was whispered so quietly that she thought that she had imagined it rather than hearing it; her head snapped towards the doorway so fast that she felt a pain shoot up in it.

There Itachi stood, leaning against the wooden door that had been closed a second before he slid it open so silently that it had failed to catch her attention. He had discarded his Akatsuki robe, she noted tiredly, thinking how much better he looked without it. How much more human...

It was the first time he hadn't called her 'kunoichi' or 'girl', but acknowledged her by her proper name, she realized. And through all her anguish, the sound of it made her suck in a breath as her heart skipped a beat. Itachi seemed to be going easy on her; his eyes non-judgmental, his words not harsh and commanding as it was customary for him. Was he doing it to make her feel better? How could she tell; she didn't know the first thing about him!

Of course, she regretted. His question was not even plausible.

"N-No," Yet she lied; not that it sounded convincing, slowly shaking her head.

Itachi didn't push her; he merely changed the topic and asked simply, "Do you want something to eat perhaps?"

It made her laugh out loud drily, a sound that sounded foreign to her own ears. Only Itachi could act as if nothing had happened. Here, she was, going through the toughest phase of her life... But Itachi had already gone through this. In fact, something that was a thousand times worse; killing his own family with his own hands. She couldn't even begin to think what it could have felt like to have your own family's blood all over you.

She rose to her feet, wobbling a little, but using the tiled wall to balance herself. She was unprepared for the cold air that hit her bare legs, and looking down she realized that she was clad in nothing but a towel that reached a little down her behind. The prospect of Itachi taking off her clothes...

"Everyone is waiting," he said in a husky whisper, rolling the words off his velvet tongue. She didn't have any idea of knowing what to say to that, really, because she was fighting off the urge to move back when he wasn't even invading her private space. It felt that way all the same.

"Come downstairs to join us," he added in a low baritone, red bright eyes smoldering against her dull jade, "when you are done changing."

And like that, he left.

Leaving her to deal with the surge of warmth that shot throughout her stomach. Sakura let go of a breath didn't realized she was holding in, hurrying to the door and quickly shutting it after him. Leaning on the wooden frame and sliding down towards the floor, she shut her eyes tight.

'_The way he...'_

Her insides fluttered. Sakura was tired and miserable. She was losing her battle with the inner turmoil that brewed darker and darker by the minute. She wasn't sure about who she was anymore. She missed her friends, her home and everything that she had ever known. She wanted back the very thing that she couldn't have; her loyalty.

'_Itachi had made sure of that!'_ She seethed to herself, too tired to glare.

'_Look at you, being a self-righteous bitch,'_ her Inner snapped, sounding out of the blue, her face pulled into ferocious lines, _'Admit it! Killing the Leaf had nothing to do with Itachi... It was all you,'_ she spat, _'Admit it, you coward.'_

'_SHUT UP!'_ She roared back at her mind, why it wouldn't understand, she didn't get! _'It's all that man's fault! He is the one who dragged me into all these shit!'_

'_Yes, blame it all on him, Sakura,'_ Inner told her quietly which was very rare, normally it was the louder of the two of them, _'And keep on hoping that he will see past all of it.'_

'_What do you mean?!' _She snapped angrily.

Inner chuckled deviously, _'Oh, you're the one with the brains, Sakura. I'm sure you've figured it by now... Why your heart flips every time you see him, why you can't keep your eyes off his despite knowing just how lethal they are, why you want to know every bit of him behind that mask he wears...'_

Sakura was appalled, '_Wh-What do you me-mean? I don't-'_

Inner Sakura cut across her, not bothering to let her finish_, 'Don't bother hiding it, Sakura. At least not from me,'_ It chuckled, _'there's nothing that you can hide from me. I am you. In fact, know the things that go inside you better than yourself. I know what your problem with Itachi is.'_

'_What nonsense are you talking about?'_ Sakura was becoming highly irritated at Inner's attitude and began contemplating if she should tune it out before it totally messes up whatever grip she had gotten over herself.

'_No use tuning me out,'_ Inner drawled, _'In fact, do yourself a favor and listen me out for once in your life. I've been in the deepest corner of your heart. I know the darkest desire of your heart.'_

Sakura frowned, '_Enough is enough!'_ she warned her inner self but it paid no heed to her.

'_You desire,'_ Inner smacked its lips, _'Uchiha Itachi...'_

Sakura was aghast at the mere thought, _'Wha-'_

'_... You, Sakura, desire Uchiha Itachi's affection...forget about your love for Konoha or all your friends,'_ Inner paused, _'You crave for Itachi's affection more than your loyalty or your desire to go back home. You desire his touch, his warmth, his everything. Do you know why? It's because you lo-'_

'_ENOUGH!'_

Inner chuckled and raised its hands in surrender, _'Hahaha, it's all in your heart, you know. The deepest, darkest desire of your heart. The question is if you will give into it..._'

'_I SAID SHUT UP!'_

Inner pouted, _'...Or maybe,'_ Its eyes flashed_, '...you already have.'_

And just like that all the walls that she had built around herself came crashing down, letting out all the emotions that she had been trying so hard to contain. Sobs racked throughout her body.

'_I...I said enough already,'_ she whispered to herself, pulling at her own hair.

Inner Sakura only laughed maniacally, the sound echoing throughout the empty traverse of her mind. _'You are stupid!'_ Inner hissed at her.

'_Damn it all!'_ She shrieked silently.

Her vision began betraying her as she tried to stand up shakily, cringing when she could feel the familiar sour, metallic taste filling her mouth. She clutched at her head, rocking from back to front. Everything went out of focus and her world spun.

"AAAARGH!"

**-Flashback-**

**There were only five of them remaining, of which one already had a stroke catching up to him which he still didn't realize; a courtesy of Samehada, she had no doubt. **

**Out of the corner of her eyes she watched as Itachi withdrew himself from the battle vicinity, motioning Kisame to follow his suit which the shark-nin complied with, much to her surprise. She had thought that Kisame of all people would have refused to share his 'thrill' of the kill, because she could swear that nothing turned him on like killing in cold blood. She remembered the conversation that they were sharing about their previous lives; now it seemed a million ages away. Kisame's side of the story didn't sound like he enjoyed killing; at least not in the beginning. **

'_**He has probably changed over time,'**_** Inner Sakura mused, **_**'Just like you are changing now.'**_

**That was Sakura's cue to shut out the sanest part of herself behind the heavy doors in the deepest corner of her mind and hang an enormous lock to it. Now, without the faint whispers of rationality and consciousness, she was free to be whoever she wanted to be. **

**Her eyes flickered down at the countless lifeless bodies littered at her feet. She didn't care enough to count how many lives were lost at her selfish cause- it didn't concern her anymore, she told herself. Not when the Hokage had proved to have so little faith in her. They'd said that it was orders to kill her on sight. **

'_**And she says that she thinks of me like a daughter,'**_** she seethed to herself. **

**She eyed the five of them through her hooded eyes, all of them looking the same in their heavy black garbs and masks. She didn't think she knew any of them personally. But the insignia that reflecting on their headbands would be burned into her memory forever. **

_**Thump.**_

**Was she sure about this was what Itachi had asked her. Hell, she was. What did the Leaf think they were playing at? Did they have so little faith in her as to believe that she had indeed betrayed her village? That she had joined the likes of Akatsuki and accepted their ideals instead? Sakura had thought that Tsunade, Kakashi, Naruto and everyone knew her better than this. However, clearly she couldn't have been more wrong. **

_**Thump.**_

**How many times have Naruto helped an enemy, for the greater good? How many times had Tsunade forgiven him? Did she need to have a demon sealed inside her to show a little humanity to people who showed kindness to her and were more human than anyone could have imagined, and to get away with it? **

**How dare they lose faith in her? How dare they doubt her loyalty? How dare they not see that she was doing whatever she had to do for the better of everyone? **

_**Thump.**_

**And anger consumed her, and she cared no more of consequences or reason or anything.**

_**Thump.**_

**She crouched low, silently daring the Leaf to make their move. But they remained still, their poses prepared for any attack that might come their way, their eyes darting between her and the Akatsuki partners who stood observing at a distance. Sakura hoped that they saw the revulsion burning in her eyes as clearly as she saw in theirs. **

**And then she flung herself towards all of them, watching them part their leg simultaneously and dig their foot firmly in the ground to steady them. Sakura smirked. Her eyes darted from one to another, taking in their stances and whatever injury they had received from fighting Itachi or Kisame, and it seemed like all of them received one or two.**

_**Thump.**_

**The one with the long gash on his thigh interested her the most. Being a medic she could tell that the wound was deep, and if left untreated, would be the death of the man. And it also meant that he was an easier target to take out first. He was limping at the very end of the formation, the other four trying to shield him. **

**As Sakura rushed towards them, she saw the one whom she assumed as the captain of the squad, draw his katana. That was a good sign, she told herself. Dodging the long blade that came her way, she did a backward flip and dodged again, just in time to let the barrage of exploding kunais soar past her head. **

**She narrowed her eyes, and everything that she had ever learnt came crashing down to her. What was the easiest and the neatest way to get rid of them, was the question that she always asked herself when coming face to face with enemies. This time, however, no such though occurred to her. All she cared about was showing them that they had indeed lost her by losing their faith in her. Her anger flashed.**

"**Shannaro!"**

**Sakura disappeared into a blur of pink and red. As one by one each of the first four shinobi fell to her feet, their bewildered, lifeless eyes staring into her very soul, Sakura didn't think she had ever enjoyed anything more than this.**

_**Thump.**_

**She looked at the very last one standing, the one with the stroke creeping up to him. He looked frightened, not for his own life, she could tell, but for the lost lives of his comrades. A feral grin crossed her lips as the tempting prospect of letting him live occurred to her. **

'_**Let him live, and let him carry news back to Konoha of what they've done to me!'**_** she shouted to herself. **

"**Run," she whispered, "RUN!" **

**She watched him stare at her with a mixed look of apprehension and bewilderment, before he began to step backwards, never trusting her enough to turn his back to her. However, he didn't even make it ten steps before he tripped over his own feet and went tumbling down on the forest floor. **

_**Thump.**_

**Itachi appeared behind him in a flash, unknownest to him. The elder heir caught her tremulous eyes with his steady ones, as he executed the last of the prey by slitting his throat, his gaze never leaving hers. **

**-End of Flashback-**

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

"...kura?" Someone was calling her from far away, it seemed.

_Thump._

"Sakura." The voice was sharp and firm, sounding every bit of the melodious that she always thought it was. Perfect.

_Thump._

Her eyes fluttered open, hazed under the thick, dark lashes. And there he was, looming over her, his eyes reverted to their original shade of the fathomless black.

_Thump._

It was still hypnotic, sharingan or not.

_Thump._

"Please..." Her voice was cracked, and her lips chapped.

_Thump._

Did he understand what she begged for? He must! She watched him nearing to her, leaning close towards her as he gripped the edge of the wooden tub, his warm fingers brushing against her.

_Thump._

His hand came to rest on her other side, caging her in. Their faces were inches apart and she could see the fine details of his lashes and the creases running on each of the sides of his face. His warm breath fluttered across her face as he peered into her eyes.

_Thump._

"Please..." She whispered again, broken.

_Thump._

Have mercy. She searched into his eyes, but the fathomless orbs remained as impassive as his face, rarely any emotion traversing through them Even rid of any emotions, Sakura thought there was some kind of a melancholy lingering somewhere deep inside his eyes, and it made her breath be caught somewhere between her lungs and her throat. He lowered his lashes for a moment. And she felt the powerful urge to reach out and cup his face into her hands; test the contours of his flawless face.

_Thump._

It had been exactly seven days since the beginning of all these shit. It shook her to just think that just a week had been enough to destroy her sixteen years' life worth of everything. At last, she thought that she was beginning to grasp the true message of this cruel world.

_Thump._

Out of the blue, it occurred to her. If she was like a flower, then Itachi was the darkness; and a flower was bound to wither in darkness. And in time she would also wither away, unless she found a way to stop all this.

_Thump._

And what was 'all this' anyways? When his eyes shot open, they were bright red and spinning, gleaming in the darkness of her mind.

_Thump._

Suddenly, it didn't matter. Suddenly, nothing mattered. It was like floating on a carefree breeze that lulled her to sleep. Nothing hurt, nothing was cold, there was no nausea, no daunting memories; absolutely nothing at all but...

_Thump._

...Uchiha Itachi.

To be continued...

**A/N**_: I don't know. Am I doing enough? I've this gnawing feeling that this isn't good enough. Yeah, I'm a pessimist at heart._


	12. Final Destination

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 12  
**Final Destination

* * *

Sakura padded across the room softly, contemplating what to do. She felt around for her Inner, but again found a void. Inner had been missing since she woke up. And she had a vague idea that it was the work of the Sharringan master.

He probably locked her conscience along with Inner, stashing them aside in the deepest corner of her mind, not sparing them a second glance. That would explain the feeling of... nothingness that lingered on her mind and heart, all traces of absolute hatred for herself and contempt just simply gone.

'_Itachi sure knows what he's doing,'_ she mused, nonchalant to the fact than if she was still in possession of her conscious, she would right now be flipping at the thought of Itachi using Sharringan on her to take away her pain, her troubles, her feelings that made her human; that set her apart from Kisame or Deidara or Itachi himself.

'_But there isn't really a difference between them and me. We're all just the same.'_

This was another thing that Sakura discovered; a change within herself. She still had the memories of the past seven days; how her life had taken a 360 degree turn in such a short time. She remembered every single event, every single detail, but when it came to the emotions associated with them, there was none. It was just a blank, a void.

True, she couldn't remember the fear that crashed into her when she discovered that she had been captured by Akatsuki, or the raw intimidation when she had pissed Itachi off during the dinner, or the heart break when she knocked out Deidara to escape, or maelstrom of emotions that whirled inside her when she realized that Itachi had snatched away everything that was hers to fulfill his cruel ambitions, or the feeling of utter betrayal when she heard the words that the Hokage had ordered her to be killed on sight.

Neither could she remember the warm feeling that swept through her when Deidara had offered her to join dinner with them, or the giddy feeling when Itachi had gotten so close to her in the woods, or the thrill that surged throughout her when Itachi had admitted that she intrigued him, or the joy when Deidara had forgiven her for her wrong-doings, or the-the...

She took a seat at the edge of the bed where she had woken to find herself tucked into. The last tangible memory she had was...looking into the depth of those Sharringan and slowly blacking out into a peaceful slumber, where no pain or nightmares or thoughts weighed down upon her. And so without her conscience or the snarky remarks of her Inner, Sakura found that she was rather alright and didn't feel the nausea of heaving everything that was in her stomach into the toilet. In fact, she was feeling quite good.

When Sakura heaved a sigh, it felt like she was letting go of every other trouble contained within her for so long. _'I should go look for them...'_ She rose to her feet just as the door slung open.

She raised her gaze to witness Itachi sauntering in. The first thing she noted was that he wasn't wearing his Akatsuki cloak. Her eyes dragged downward, taking in the sight that the lack of the dreaded cloak offered. She had only seen him so few a times without it, but every time it hadn't stopped to take her breath away.

Itachi had a supple body which was not too thin or too bulky, just enough muscles to give his lean face a wondrous build. But it was not the body that always grabbed her attention, it was rather the way he carried himself; self-possessed and aloof. Itachi owned a refinement in his stature that very few had, even in the shinobi ranks. He was never subtle, nor extravagant, just efficient. Everything about him was just perfect.

And then there were those eyes sometimes stark black with flecks of grey and at others, the crimson swirling pools of blood. Neither of them ceased to fascinate her. Sakura distinctively recalled how she had struggled to keep her eyes from meeting his when they had first met. It seemed ages ago, when she met his eyes now.

Suddenly it was like she couldn't breathe, her eyes drawn into the depths of those dark, fathomless expanse, behind which lingered a sea of melancholy. It was like seeing him for the first time all over again. Only this time, she couldn't remember the fear associated with his name and existence. This time, he was just another human being to her; not Uchiha Itachi, the soulless entity that haunted the face of the earth.

Has Itachi done this intentionally?

She swallowed drily, waiting for him to say something, because Sakura knew she would make a fool out of herself if she as much as opened her mouth.

"We wish to continue our journey as soon as you feel up to it."

His voice was monotonous, but her heart picked up its pace all the same. It was all she could do to nod briskly at him. There was a pause where Itachi didn't leave the room and Sakura realized with a frown that he must be waiting to know if she felt up to it or not.

"We can leave now," she said hurriedly, careful to take glimpses of him from lowered lashes, "If you want."

Itachi regarded her from head to toe, and then remarked, "You need to eat. Let's go."

'_E-Eat? What?'_

Sakura found herself trailing behind him out of the room into the hallway of the hotel they had apparently taken shelter at for the time being until she 'felt up to it'. Deidara and Kisame were waiting for them at the end of the corridor, both throwing her looks of what she assumed were worry in their own ways. She smiled at them in assurance.

Kisame grinned back at her, "All ready, Pinky?"

Sakura followed her impulse to stick out her tongue at him, surprising him for a moment. But then he broke into laughter, shaking his head, "Still as feisty as ever, eh?"

Sakura caught Deidara's eyes, who looked at her long enough to throw her a frown, before looking away. His face told her he wasn't convinced by what she was putting up.

'_Oh, Deidara, if only you knew that Itachi has found a way to take away all the pain,'_ she halted on her tracks, _'just the way he took away everything else of course.'_

It had been a while since her stomach felt so full and content. Sakura, wrapped in an Akatsuki robe courtesy of Itachi, exited the restaurant followed by the other three of the Akatsuki. She discovered that the prospect of wearing the Akatsuki symbol didn't bother her anymore like it used to, another courtesy of Itachi of course.

She stopped watching the others doing the same.

Itachi spoke, "Since we keep running into every kind of nuisance there is," Sakura felt this was pointed at her and winced, "I think it's best to quit our present method of travelling."

"Huh?" It seemed Itachi might have locked a bit of her productive brain along with everything that he considered bothersome to his ideals.

"We'll be teleporting," he told her shortly.

"Oh."

Deidara cleared his throat, and said, "I've a mission, yeah."

Sakura assumed that was his way of telling Itachi that he wasn't going to abide by his commands and that he would be travelling in a way he saw fit. It made her smile faintly; same old nice and grumpy Deidara.

'_Oh, he is such a sweetheart.'_ She sighed to herself, _'Too bad he keeps shutting me out every other day.'_

He must be conflicted as well, it dawned upon her. She wondered if she could perhaps persuade Itachi to do the same to Deidara what he had done on her. Perhaps that would make it easier...? Sakura laughed at herself, yeah, Deidara would rather commit suicide than let Itachi anywhere near 10 feet of him. Not that Itachi would agree to show such kindness to him, in the first place.

'_Kindness?'_ She tested the word, _'Is that how I really think of what he has done to me?'_

Sakura decided that yes, she did consider it a kindness from Itachi's part. Made it far easier to do what she had to do. And right now she had to keep her word; she had given Akatsuki her word that she would help them. She just hoped that she wasn't contributing to the end of the world.

Sakura watched as Kisame went first, teleporting by himself to who knows where. Deidara didn't move for a long time, and then he began to walk away at the opposite direction from them, leaving Itachi and her by themselves. Sakura looked up at Itachi quizzically.

"Hold on." His instruction was short.

And Sakura looked at the outstretched hand for the longest time, wide eyed.

Their steps echoed throughout the empty corridor. The fire lamps on the walls flickered to life as they passed them, lighting their way. They had finally reached their destination. From what she could tell, they were in the Country of Spring. Sakura looked around in wonder that the Akatsuki hide-out was actually an under-ground tavern. She had always thought that it would be a scary looking tall mansion, standing on an empty moor.

Abruptly they came to a stop at the end of the corridor, facing the towering double doors with dark blood red ink carving a single kanji. Akatsuki. Itachi's hands flew to make a few hand seals, too fast for Sakura to make out what they were, "Kai."

Immediately the heavy wooden double doors slung open on its own from the inside. Itachi took steady steps into the dimly lit room, and Kisame let her go first before following them in. The doors slung shut behind them with a loud thud, reverberating against her heart.

Sakura felt around within herself for fear, anticipation or anything but found nothing. There must be something that she felt while walking down the Akatsuki liar, minutes or seconds away from coming face to face with their mysterious leader! But it seemed Itachi had just turned her into a shell. The very thing she always criticized about Sasuke for so long.

Sakura looked around the cave like room was dimly lit. A further few steps into the land brought them face to face with the sole female of the Akatsuki. Konan, she remembered from one document or another that she had read while doing the Godaime Hokage's paperwork.

She was tall and slender, probably in her early thirties. Her short blue tresses were pulled into a messy bun at one side of her head, secured by a rose origami, while the loose stands of hair fell at the back of her neck and on her forehead. Her icy blue eyes were done with equally blue eye-shadow, bringing out the flecks of orange that burned deep inside them.

"Konan-san," Kisame and Itachi both bowed slightly and Sakura fidgeted if she should do the same or not. The look that Kisame sent her out of the corner of his eyes, told her that she should. So she did a fumbling bow, inwardly not liking the prospect of bowing to an Akatsuki. But oh well, she had killed fellow shinobi from her Country, bowing to Akatsuki certainly wasn't any worse a notion.

When Sakura straightened, she found Konan regarding her sharply. A look of distaste crossed her eyes when she eyed Sakura's attire, namely the Akatsuki robe that Itachi had let her borrow, but it was flitting and Sakura decided not to dwell on it. If there was a rule that people couldn't borrow Akatsuki cloaks then Itachi wouldn't have indulged her in the first place. The elder Uchiha was normally the type to stick to laws if he could help it.

Pursing her lips, Konan looked past her and nodded at her subordinates, "Go ahead. He is wondering what took you so long." Her voice was just above a whisper, and she stood aside to let them pass.

Itachi sauntered ahead and again Kisame let her go first before following them. Probably some kind of formation to ensure that she didn't turn tails and try to run away. Sakura thought that they needn't bother, after all what did she have left to run away to? If anything, Akatsuki was the place where half of her heart was, if not her mind.

_Knock_.

The double doors similar to the previous ones slung open just as swiftly and allowed them entrance. As it slung shut Sakura fidgeted, all too aware of the intense look that Konan threw at her back. Kisame snorted behind her, but she decided to ignore him.

Most of the room lay hidden in the shadows. The flames burned in the fireplace, giving the room a warm glow.

'_Which is far from what this place really is...'_ She snorted inwardly, wishing Inner was present so they could pass snarky comments.

Of the little that the fire revealed to her inquisitive eyes, the room was furnished modestly; there was an oak table standing in the middle of the room, and behind it was a throne like chair with its back turned towards them, facing a window. The rest remained obscured in the darkness. The Akatsuki partners looming somewhat in front of her, like guarding her against whatever lay ahead, didn't spare a glance to their surroundings.

"Leader-sama." Itachi and Kisame both broke the silence, giving a more humble bow towards the figure that sat hunched on the throne, than they had given to Konan.

Sakura, along with the partners waited for the leader to speak. After some minutes of nerve-wrecking silence, the throne like chair swiveled around to reveal the face of the Akatsuki leader to Sakura for the very first time. If she hadn't been a medic and were not used to witnessing much worse, she was certain she would have screamed.

'_Is he trying to make a fashion statement with all those facial piercings or what?'_ She shuddered involuntarily, hoping that no one would take note of it. The last thing she wanted was to be considered rude on the grounds of S-class criminals.

"Itachi. Kisame." Pain nodded towards them in acknowledgement, his face so impassive that Sakura thought it could beat Itachi's facade of nonchalance.

"What's your name?"

Sakura had only been looking at the leader of Akatsuki out of the corner of her eyes, not daring to look at him fully in the eye, anxious that it could mean her doom. But once he asked her name, she relaxed relatively, and gathered the courage to look him in the eye and had to suppress a gasp.

The multiple facial piercing wasn't the only thing odd about the Akatsuki leader; in fact, in more ways than one, his ringed eyes absolutely terrified her as it pierced through her jade ones. It wasn't like anything she ever saw. Sakura swallowed hard, her heart seemed to have jumped up to her throat. Where had Itachi brought her to?

Somehow she managed to reply, "Haruno Sakura," her voice barely even a whisper.

Either the Akatsuki ring leader had sharp ears or he had read her lips as he echoed, "Haruno Sakura!" he paused, his brows knit together as if in deep thought, "Surely not the Kyuubi boy's teammate?"

He looked past her to Itachi and Kisame who had both taken a step backward in order to present Sakura to their master.

"The very same," Itachi intoned monotonously.

Kisame added, a smile curling on his lips, "She is the legendary Tsunade's apprentice," he sounded pleased with himself, or at least how things have turned out.

Even though Pain sounded positively astonished, Sakura found no sign of astonishment on his expression. It was wiped blank, a skill he had mastered over the years she was sure. But what she thought she saw lurking at the corner of his ringed eyes, was a restrained satisfaction. Satisfaction or otherwise, it couldn't mean anything good for her either way, she knew.

Pain turned his eyes away from her and to Itachi again, "You are two days too late. What took you so long?" There was an edge to his voice that told her he wasn't pleased with the Uchiha or his partner.

Kisame was the one who sniggered, "We ran into trouble."

Pain's eyes flashed. He echoed, as if testing the very word on his lips, "Trouble?"

This time Itachi was faster, cutting across whatever Kisame was going to babble away, "We ran into a horde of Mist-nin and later squads of Leaf-nin twice."

Sakura observed how he omitted the part where she had taken the creative initiative to dupe Deidara and make a run for it, or where he had taken the time to make sure that she was doing this willingly, despite his underhanded tricks, threats, blackmails, manipulation and seduction.

"And they had been all disposed of, I hope?" Pain sounded cold, or it was his words that were cold.

"In a manner of speaking."

Sakura gulped slightly. No, all of them hadn't been disposed of! She had made a deal with Itachi to spare Genma's life. Genma had made it out alive, but why did Itachi lie to the face of his leader? He would be punished if Pain found out that he was lying. She glanced over at Kisame to see if he was as surprised as she was, but Kisame didn't show any sign of looking back at her.

She blinked, and suddenly realized that Itachi hadn't necessarily lied. He had...modified. His words 'in a manner of speaking' didn't necessarily mean that he killed all of them. Yes, it hinted to it, but it also implied that he had taken care of every obstacle the way he deemed fit. So he had deemed it fit to spare Genma's life. Suddenly her heart pounded at the thought that Pain might ask for specification and surely Itachi wouldn't have any other way out but to tell every bit of the truth. But Pain seemed pleased as it was, and didn't push the topic further.

"Kisame," Pain called out, "You may leave, and send Konan in on your way."

Kisame, whom Sakura knew to be very bustling, didn't need to be said twice. Bowing politely, he turned to leave. She caught the strange look that he sent her, but it was flitting and she had no way of asking what the shark-nin implied by it.

Kisame hadn't left for a minute, that the doors slung open once again and Konan sauntered in, her steps steady yet delicate. She padded across the room and came to stand by the fireplace, letting the warm light bask her.

"Konan," Her partner acknowledged her, which she returned with a silent nod.

Sakura didn't know much about Konan since no one usually lived to tell the tale of coming across the sole female of Akatsuki. Even Jiraiya hadn't been able to do much progress trying to dig about the mysterious Akatsuki leader and his equally mysterious partner. So she absolutely had no idea of what the elder woman's prowess could be. But if Deidara, Kisame and Itachi, individuals as powerful as them were mere subordinates, it didn't leave much to the imagination of what extraordinary power the leader and his second-in-hand could wield. It made her stomach churn suddenly.

'_It's rather a bit too late to wonder what I've gotten myself into,'_ she thought sarcastically.

Pain regarded both her and Itachi silently with a look that gave her an impression of being x-rayed. Sakura took a glimpse of the elder Uchiha from the corner of her eyes and being a medic, could tell that Itachi was equally terse about the situation. His reaction came as a surprise to her. Sakura had never in the seven days of their acquaintance, seen him tensed. He had been calm, impassive, cold, nonchalant, in control, angry, furious, livid, disdainful, irritated, hell somewhere close to amused, but never tensed or anywhere near.

She tried to not look at Itachi, because seeing the master of her mind in such condition could very well encourage the non-existent fear in her to creep into her system in thick waves. The last thing she needed now was to screw this up and end up at the receiving end of the leader's katana.

"Do you know why you were bought here, Sakura-san?" The suffix to her name shocked her. Here the Akatsuki leader was using a suffix to address her, when even Itachi or Kisame didn't bother to do so. Heck, Itachi had called her 'kunoichi' for the greater part of their acquaintance and Kisame probably didn't even know that she wasn't christened as 'Pinky'.

She shook her head, dubiously.

Pain threw a look at Itachi which she couldn't quite place.

Then continued, "Aa. I'd like to tell you all about it. But first I need to be absolutely sure that everything that goes on between us remains entirely confidential."

"It's against my medic code to breech patient confidentiality," she found herself saying without her brain even registering what she was saying. As everyone in the room stared at her, realization hit her.

'_Oh, Kami!'_

Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched Itachi's eyes narrow by a fraction. Her mouth went dry. She realized that it wasn't until she was faced with even dire situations, that she grasped how tolerant Itachi had been to her all these time. She was so fraught with a new found fear, and could only stare back blankly, hoping that Pain or his partner would be just as lenient as Itachi had been with her.

"I suggest that we make our business through a binding jutsu, that will bind you to absolute confidentiality," Pain said coolly.

"What the hell?" This too came out of her mouth, unauthorized.

This evoked a reaction deep inside Pain, making his eyes flash dangerously. She could feel Itachi getting edgier by the second. Konan was now plain glaring at her direction, but Sakura tried to not look at her or anyone else in the room. She was determined to keep her eyes to the ground, and deeply cherish each second that she had left on her clock.

'_I think you better stop questioning everything that comes your way. One of these days your mouth will be the death of you.' _She shrieked as her Inner shockingly appeared from out of nowhere. Was Itachi's spell coming undone?

'_Oh, no! Now is not the time!'_ she exclaimed to herself, praying that she had just imagined Inner's voice or anything than the real thing. The last thing she needed was Inner to take over her and spew shits that could very well lead to a sticky end for her.

"Uh..." She nervously ventured to repeal her outburst, "I...I think that's...an excellent idea...?" She offered feebly, sounding lame to her own ears.

Itachi was, like the countless other times previously, her savior. She watched him step forward and look Pain in the eye with hooded eyes, his muscles taut with apprehension. She was frightened by the fact that something made even the Uchiha Itachi to be like this.

"Leader-sama, with all due respect," Itachi murmured, "Take my words when I say that she is reliable."

Pain arched a brow, "How can you be so convinced, Itachi? Isn't she wearing an intact Leaf head band; a marked sign of her loyalty."

'_Loyalty, hah!' _

She suddenly knew from the smirk that tugged at the corner of Itachi's lips, what was coming her way. She groaned to herself, _'Please don't do this, Itachi. I'm tired of playing that card.'_

"Yes, I see it, Leader-sama," Itachi smirked wider, "But that is what convinces me so much; her loyalty." He paused, turning his blazing red eyes at her, boring into her broken soul, "She has agreed to see this to the very end upon her honor. In fact, she has proved herself to be rather," he emphasized upon the word, "_too _loyal."

She watched horrified as Itachi got the last laugh as usual. Even Pain seemed to be contemplating, on the verge of conviction.

'_This isn't fair!' _She screamed to herself.

Itachi pinned her frantically racing heart in her chest to its place. His voice was soft as he lowered his lashes, instantly pulling her into his trance, "Sakura," his voice sounded harsher than she had ever witnessed it, pulling her into another of his trances, "will have no qualms about signing a blood binding agreement."

Sakura found herself mutely nodding along with his words like a stringed puppet, not having the heart to go against the words of someone as enticing as Itachi. And what could she have said? Besides, hypnotizing or not, Itachi would always have the last say. Where she stood now, was a living proof of that. She was certain that had it been any lesser man than Itachi, she would have been back in her village by now and curled up in her bed, sleeping peacefully.

Pain regarded both of them as they in turn gazed at each other. Sakura prayed to all the gods who would listen to her that Pain would see the unfairness of the whole situation and make a fairer judgment. But apparently the Akatsuki leader also didn't have any qualms about what was fair and what wasn't when it came down to achieving their goals.

'_Talking about goals, just what service do Akatsuki even require of me...?'_

Neither Itachi, nor the others had never actually told her anything other than that they needed her medical expertise. If it required some high level equipment, where on earth would she manage that?

Pain was the first to speak, "Alright then."

He flicked his hand and a scroll summoned itself from the top of the drawer that stood against the wall on the opposite side of the room. It rolled open by itself, suspended in the thin air.

Sakura batted an eyelid, was that one of his ability? He could manipulate matter? She had seen nothing like it before.

Pain wrote something on the scroll and then signed it with his blood. Having finished his part, he flicked his hand and the scroll went zooming to Sakura. It rolled open in front of her so she could read what Pain had written.

_Once I've signed this agreement, I'm bound by blood to not speak of anything that is related to this business to any other soul. Only the initiator has the rights to share whatever information he pleases regarding this agreement to whomever he pleases._

Sakura eyed the elegant scribble a couple of times, looking thoroughly for any ulterior implications, but was disheartened to find none. It meant she would have to sign the agreement without any say in it; and she deeply hated the prospect of it.

'_Well I dug my own bed; it's only fair that I lie in it.'_

Sighing, she bit her thumb until it drew blood and signed her name with it next to the elegant scribble that was Pain's.

"There."

She sniffed disdainfully watching as the scroll again flew over under Pain's nose where he examined it before making some seals. The scroll glowed for a moment and when the light faded out, the scroll fell limply on Pain's lap. He picked it up and flicked his hand, making it zoom towards the drawer on the opposite side of the room and rest there once again.

"Now that's done," Pain said in a tone of finality, he looked sideways at Itachi and nodded, "Itachi, you can leave now."

It took a second longer for Itachi himself to process what was being asked of him, but the lapse was recovered swiftly when he turned around to leave. Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but caught Itachi's eyes which flashed dangerously, promising her that one step out of the line and he would punish her in the worst way. Sakura quickly shut her mouth, listening to the steady steps of Itachi walking away, the final slam of the door and he was gone.

Without Itachi in the room, the room somehow seemed much bleaker and colder and much less safe. Sakura suppressed a shiver, bringing her arms to wrap around herself. She didn't dare look up from the spot on the carpet where she had fixed her gaze to.

"Have a seat, Sakura-san," Pain's voice had reverted to a much milder tone, his eyes flicking towards the chair directly in front of his. Looking past her, he said quietly, gently, "Leave us, Konan."

Sakura who had forgotten about the elder woman, craned her head to see the woman loitering at one corner of the room, a thick volume clutched in her hand. Konan looked up from it. For a second Sakura thought that she would not abide by her partner's word, but was impressed when she shut the volume close with a thud, but otherwise complied.

Sitting down, Sakura folded her hands in her lap and remained silent.

"It's time to work out the details of our agreement, Sakura-san," Pain began. She watched his fingers reaching out towards another scroll on the table, his Akatsuki ring gleaming ominously on his thumb.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to sound better than she felt, "Hai." She could feel his eyes on her, but resisted the urge to meet them. Who knew what remarkable prowess lay hidden behind those ringed electric eyes?

"You may be wondering why Itachi or Kisame hadn't told you more about this," he paused unceremoniously, but was quick to recover, "this service that we require of you..."

Yes, Sakura had been wondering about that.

"Truth be told, both Itachi and Kisame were only instructed to bring me a medic extraordinaire, and it is merely a coincidence that you happen to be Uzumaki Naruto's teammate..."

'_Oh, so they had indeed been telling the truth. They don't intend to use me as bait!'_

She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She nodded at Pain, as if trying to convince herself.

'_You can never be sure,_' her mind seemed to warn her and she agreed with it wholeheartedly.

"Is it true that you're Tsunade-hime's apprentice?" His voice was a baritone; however, it was his eyes that told her of his keenness.

She merely nodded, not enthusiastic to talk about Tsunade of all people.

A smirk crept up to the leader's lips, "Now, I would have been content with whomever Itachi and Kisame decided to bring in as long as he/she was competent enough, but I can't say that I'm not exceptionally glad that it was you. The things that the legendary Tsunade can do..."

There seemed to be an edge to his voice as he said the name and it made her wonder if somehow the Akatsuki leader had once come across her mentor.

"You must be better than most."

Sakura shifted in her seat, not knowing how to respond to such compliments uttered from such a mouth.

"...And so young as well."

Sakura scowled, all her previous discomfort forgotten. She felt rather offended. She asked irritably, not caring if she overstepped some line or another, "So?"

Pain, who was immersed in a scroll as he talked, paused to look up at her. When she didn't say anything further, his smirk broadened. He resumed his work, surprising her by not reprimanding her for her insolence.

"So..." He chuckled lightly, "I didn't realize that someone so young would have caught Itachi's interest."

And there was that word again!

Interest!

Intrigue!

So it was not just her. The notion that someone like Uchiha Itachi would be interested in someone like her was laughable, even to the Akatsuki leader. But then again, Itachi had admitted to it with his own lips, that something about her _indeed_ intrigues him.

'_He's trying to get into my mind,'_ she screamed in her mind, _'Just like Itachi did.'_

Sakura decided to listen to the part of herself that sounded sane all of a sudden. She didn't say anything.

Pain seemed to sigh softly, "And since you caught Itachi's attention, it must mean that there is something in you," Sakura blinked rapidly, trying her best not to let him get into her head that Itachi had...taken care of for her, "And I value that."

'_Good, good! Now can you please tell me what this is really about?'_ Both her curiosity and impatience were winning out at an equal rate.

Pain sighed again, dropping the scroll and leaning back in his chair and said, "It is Konan," in a way as if it explained all.

This time Sakura raised her gaze from the corner of the wooden table that she had been examining, to give him a quizzical look, "I beg your pardon?"

The Akatsuki leader ran his fingers into his ruffled orange tresses and closed his eyes, "She thinks my health is..." he paused, his eyes fluttered open, "...declining. I've been putting off medical check-ups for quite some time now."

Sakura who have been examining the Akatsuki leader closely, blurted out, "But you seem absolutely and positively alright." And he did.

'_Maybe now I can leave?' _She mentally intoned.

Pain outright laughed, the sound startling her. She watched with wide eyes as Pain threw back his head and continued laughing loudly. What he found so funny about the notion, only he could tell.

"That's the thing isn't it, Sakura-san?" His words perplexed her even more than his laughter.

"Uh... Ano," She didn't quite know how to say what she wanted to say, "I don't think I quite understand what you're talking about."

Pain waved his hand dismissively, "No matter. You're bright, you'll understand it soon enough. The important thing is to hold your tongue," he told her severely, fixing his eyes on her and as expected, she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from his.

"I understand," she replied, her voice muted.

"And remember," there was something in his voice that was escalating by each word, "You wouldn't want to do something so foolish around here that could get you killed. I wouldn't want to lose you now, when we have undeniably come so far."

Sakura blinked, not knowing whether it was a threat or a compliment or a bit of both. A derisive smile twisted in her lips as she replied, "I'll try to do my best."

She didn't see the point in telling the orange haired man that even her very best efforts of keeping herself from tempting mass-murderers to kill her, made them want to kill her even more. How many times had she come down to mere inches from death in the past week again?

"Go rest for now. We'll begin first thing in the morning. Konan will show you to your room."

"Of course," she managed to say.

Sakura didn't need to be told twice to get up and hurry across the room as fast as her shaking legs would carry her. It was after the doors had slung shut after her, that she let go of the breath that she was holding in. She pressed her hand to her chest to hold her heartbeat in.

What the hell had Itachi gotten her into?

Sakura's forehead found the door as she tried hard to calm her breathing. It became very tempting to just pass out at the moment.

"Come," The voice was softer and muter than she remembered from a couple of hours earlier when they had just arrived. When Konan had silently appeared behind her, she couldn't tell. But Sakura was glad that she did because she wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea of going to look for the woman in a place where danger lurked at every corner.

"Konan-san," she breathed out, trying her best to offer the woman a smile. It was a pitiful excuse of a smile, and either way the woman didn't look impressed. She jerked her head in the signal for Sakura to follow her down the caved path to their right.

Sakura took some cautious steps towards the elder woman, trying to look past her and into the mouth of the cavern that she was expected to follow Konan into. But it was too dark so she couldn't discern anything. Konan began walking forward, her hands pressing in front of her as if molding something.

Sakura followed her and was relieved to see the fire lamps on the walls bursting into life and showering them with light as they passed. It also gave her a view of what Konan was doing. It seemed to her that the elder lady was infusing her chakra with scraps of paper.

For one reason or another, the elder woman's presence, Akatsuki or not, didn't get on her nerves like Kisame's and Deidara's did in the beginning or like Itachi's and the Leader's still did. Whatever the reason, she was glad for it.

She watched with curiosity as Konan pressed the tampered paper within her hand for a moment before holding out her hand open. Sakura watched with fascination as a white paper butterfly fluttered away.

"Cool!"

She couldn't help herself but exclaim, watching the butterfly until it disappeared somewhere within the darkness. She glanced back towards Konan who regarded her coolly.

Sakura raised a brow to herself, _'What's with her?'_

Without another word, they resumed their walk. The woman was obviously not a talker.

'_Too many years with all these men swarming around her must have made her like this,' _she mused, _'But then again, talking as little as possible probably came with the job description of an s-class criminal.'_

They took a fair number of twists and turns and after five minutes, Sakura was fairly sure that she'd never be able to find her way back to the leader's office if needed.

Konan seemed to choose to speak at last, making Sakura blink before she realized just what the woman was referring to. Her words drifted to her ears.

"If any harm is to fall Pain under your treatment," Konan's voice turned from quiet to a more authoritative tone, making her bite her lips, "Itachi is to be held responsible. Just thought you should know that."

"Ex-Excuse me?" The words stuck in her throat, not out of fear because Itachi had taken care of that rather efficiently, but with a strange sense of indignation.

Konan continued disregarding Sakura's words entirely, "You might think that it is nothing to you of what happens to Itachi, but think of Uchiha Sasuke..."

Konan let the words hang in the air as Sakura stood there gaping. What did the woman just tell her? That Itachi would be held responsible if something went wrong? She wanted to scream back that this was a matter of health, a matter of the course of nature, true she was a gifted medic but even she couldn't alter fate and something were even beyond her help.

And how did Sasuke come into any of these? And then with a sick twist, realization dawned upon her. Sasuke was a sworn avenger; Itachi's life was his to take. If Itachi was to be killed on her account, what would Sasuke do? The answer was simple, but the honest truth. Sasuke would hate her, detest her and hunt her down to the ends of the world and not rest until he killed her with his own hands. It would drive Sasuke mad.

Wiping her face of any emotion like she had watched Deidara do so many times when he was angry with her or when Itachi walked into the room, she replied in an equally cool tenor, "You needn't be so worried, Konan-san. I've no intention of harming anyone here," she paused and then added as an afterthought, "unless of course, they stand as a threat to me."

Konan's next words hit her like a bullet could never have.

"That is odd coming from a kunoichi of Leaf whose sworn enemy is the Akatsuki."

Sakura sighed; she should have seen this coming her way for awhile now.

"I've been living for myself for a quite a while now, Konan-san."

Her eyes got caught in the spinning red ones as Itachi appeared a yard away from her. The little smirk at the corner of his lips told her that he had at least witnessed the end of the conversation. Sakura hoped that he hadn't heard the first part though. And as to why she hoped so, she had no clue; she just did.

Regardless of whatever she hoped or thought, Sakura had never felt so relieved to see the elder Uchiha as she took long strides away from the company of the Akatsuki female and towards the man who made her heart pick up its pace at every step that took her nearer to him.

Because in spite of being an Akatsuki, or an enemy, or just merely Uchiha Itachi, he was the only company that she seemed to find herself utterly safe under in this new life that she had carved for herself.

To be continued…

**A/N: **_I'm running out of ideas for the 'Uchiha Itachi ending' that I do for every chapter, so sorry if this one sucked._


	13. Rolling in the Deep

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto. This is purely Fanfiction and had been written for entertainment purposes only, without any intention of infringing upon any copyright.

* * *

**Desires of the Heart  
**Part I: Confliction

**Chapter 13  
**Rolling in the Deep

* * *

Sakura sighed and looked herself over in the mirror that she stood in front of. She couldn't remember the last time she looked at her reflection in the past seven days, or combed her hair, or shampooed her hair even.

Sakura thought that her bubblegum pink hair which was now matted and split at the ends from lack of care, had grown a good few inches since the last time she had the privilege of appreciating herself in front of a mirror. Her skin was pallor, having lost its entire glow owing to the countless sleepless nights and daunting dreams. Of what little color remained in her cheeks, looked entirely unhealthy.

'_If you were looking anything close to this in the woods the day you ran into Genma's squad, it must have taken a lot of effort for Itachi to put on the act that he did,'_ Inner snickered.

Sakura threw a sharp look at herself in the mirror, meaning it at her Inner. Sakura didn't yet know whether she was happy or not to have Inner Sakura back. But if it didn't bag the snarky remarks, she had a good mind of asking the elder Uchiha to lock it up for her again.

'_And there will be little chance of returning next time,'_ she threatened it, and then adding as an afterthought, _'Hopefully.'_

She was exhausted, more mentally than physically. She stepped back from the sink, her fingers dragging over its cold edge where she was gripping earlier for support. Turning on the shower at full blast, she stripped down and let the scalding hot water run all over her, making her muscles pull lusciously.

When was the last time she had taken a bath? At the Akatsuki safe-house immediately after getting captured? Or did she have a bath at the hotel after that?

Suddenly memories of the last bath that she had came to her, haunting. She had woken up wrapped in a towel, her head resting against the cold texture of a wooden tub. Someone had washed her and taken her clothes off and wrapped her in a towel... That someone could very well have been Itachi! Sakura had been very careful not to ask him if it had indeed been him, even though it bugged her; too embarrassed at the thought that the answer was what she dreaded. Thinking that it might have been Itachi was one thing, but knowing that it had been Itachi... Sakura didn't think she could live up to the embarrassment of the confirmation.

And to think that he had seen her naked, at her most vulnerable state...It sent bone chilling shivers up her spine, one that was very different from the ones associated to the fear that sparked within her around Itachi. It was...tantalizing.

Closing her eyes and using her fingers to wash out the dirt in her hair, she let the memories come back and hit her. Now that she didn't have to feel the pain or the heartache associated to her memories, it was much easier inviting them back in and reliving them.

She recalled the voices in her head, how wrecked she was, how painful it all was, how she had struggled to keep her emotions at bay knowing full well that once it came crashing down, it would sweep her away in the tidal wave of never ending despair. That was one of the worst inner struggle she had, even worse than being faced with the Akatsuki's proposition, or the dilemma of choosing between Sasuke and Konoha all those years ago on that fateful night. Oh, how could she ever thank Itachi for this kindness he had shown her?

She remembered the feeling of betrayal when she heard those Leaf-nins announce the Hokage's order to dispose of her, hitting far, far, more intensely than Sasuke's disloyalty ever had. And she remembered the moment just before all those shit breaking into her life, the perfect moment where she had felt like being suspended into the thin air- only her and Itachi and no one else, however small the moment may have been.

The momentarily peace of her mind where everything had felt alright; like her life hadn't been ruined, like all these hadn't been a huge mistake and a sin that she was committing, like it had been the right thing to do.

'_...Like beside Itachi,'_ she thought with a shudder, _'is the right place to be...'_

She remembered Kisame telling his story and Deidara's. How elated she was that even if it was to Akatsuki that his loyalties lied, Kisame was devoted, not some wayward criminal who killed on whim! She remembered Kisame's teasing conduct around her and Deidara's kindness to her and his understanding that got her through in a place where loneliness and despair threatened to consume her.

She remembered the exhilarating feeling of being close to Itachi, feeling his warmth that soaked through his clothing into hers, making her skin prickle. She remembered the invigorating feeling of hearing from his lips that she intrigued him. She remembered the first time he uttered her name, breaking through all her aggravation the sound had hit home, close to her heart.

She remembered the time she had angered him during her meal with Akatsuki. How close she had been to dying in his hands, but it hadn't mattered. All she could do was to stare at those beautiful pools of crimson. How later that very night she had witnessed for the very first time how his eyes looked without the red hue. It took away her breath every time.

She remembered the first time she had laid her eyes on him, she hadn't been able to believe her eyes because of all the things that she had expected, she hadn't expected to see an Akatsuki just stand there and eye her impassively, much less Itachi himself. Next as everything registered in her mind, she had been horrified. She remembered the fear she felt, a truly appalling sensation to realize that there was no way out no matter how much you tried, you were a trapped animal manipulated for the sake of indulgence. And the adrenaline rushing up her veins. And she remembered successfully hitting him with a surge of chakra scalpel!

But that was all, she could only remember them all.

She could remember being frightened, or being forlorn, or being in pain, but she couldn't remember the _feeling_ of being all those.

In the same way, she could remember being elated, being exhilarated, intoxicated and everything else in between, but she couldn't remember _actually_ feeling all those.

Itachi had taken away her pain and hardships and her nagging conscience, but along with it, he had also robbed her of everything in between.

**SXS**

When Sakura came out of the washroom, it was well past midnight. Itachi, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, rose to his feet as soon as he saw her exiting, meeting her halfway.

Sakura didn't meet his gaze, but fixed her eyes on his jaw line finding it easier to say what she wanted to say without having to look him in the eye where he could sweep her off her feet and into the swirling darkness of Mangekyou.

"I want them back," she blurted out, most unceremoniously and felt like slapping herself, "My..." She couldn't find the words to clarify herself.

There was a pause as Sakura began to contemplate how best to rephrase her words. But Itachi seemed to understand anyways. He spoke, his voice not the usual line of velvet, but a little hoarse much to her surprise, "You're better off without them."

Recovering from her shock, she looked up at him to glare; an impulsive action. She shouted out in frustration, "It's not your call to make!"

Couldn't he see how lost she was without knowing her emotions? She needed them! They were what drove her, whether she was a patriot or a traitor.

It seemed like an eternity where neither of them relented and stood glaring into the depths of each other's eyes. Sakura's gaze was the first to falter, drawn to his lips which had been pressed into a hard line and now parted a little. Her own lips quivered.

"Please..." Her voice soft and mute, quivered.

He just stared down at her, unblinkingly, looking utterly unmoved. When he lifted his hand, Sakura flinched and immediately moved back, expecting some kind of a blow. She looked at him standing where he had been, his perfect brows arched at her actions. She felt blood rush to her face, embarrassed to have thought that he would hit her.

Before she could move forward, Itachi reached her with one long stride. Sakura tried her best to block out their proximity, but the wall against her back made it difficult to do so. Gulping unconsciously, she watched Itachi lean in towards her and envelope her in his warmth without any warning. Both his hands rose to rest on the wall on either side on her, blocking her in. Her breath caught in her throat as he further leaned in until his mouth rested against her ears.

Sakura's heart pounded so loud that she was certain that he could hear it loud and clear. Itachi cocked his head slightly, his cheek brushing against hers and lips sweeping against the shell of her ear. Sakura's heart stopped at its track.

"Sakura..." He whispered against her skin, his breath blowing into her ear and creating fissions deep inside her.

There was pressure against her forehead and she felt her whole world heave. Suddenly, she felt her legs give up beneath her. She made a grab at Itachi's cloak, bringing them both to their knees on the ground. She unconsciously gripped at his robes harder, pressing herself against the hard muscles of his body that tensed at the contact. Sakura's eyes fluttered shut against all the sensations that hit her, numbing her.

_...Adrenaline _

_Fear_

_Desperation_

_Contempt_

_Indecision_

_Fascination_

_Determination_

_Despair_

_Guilt_

_Misery_

_Uncertainty_

_Attachment_

_Exhilaration_

_Apprehension_

_Ecstasy_

_Betrayal_

_Resolution_

_Thump_

_Thump_

_Anguish_

_Thump_

_Thump_

_Numb_

_...Desires..._

"Please!" She shrieked, her voice broken.

The relief was instant, spreading throughout the expanse of her writhing mind, neutralizing the hundreds and hundreds of sensations into once unwavering line of tranquility.

She moaned.

Itachi moved away as Sakura stirred and her eyes fluttered open. She immediately squinted at the blinding lights. Slowly she looked around and listed Itachi regarding her warily from across her, on his knees. She looked down at the ground and waited for everything to make sense. She had pleaded with Itachi to give back her emotions...

"What happened?" Her voice was barely a whisper and sounded foreign to her own ears.

Itachi looked at her in a way that she assumed was his version of the I-told-you-so-look. She didn't understand. When she continued to look expectantly at him, he sighed and deigned himself to reply apathetically, "Your mind rejected."

"Excuse me?"

"I had used Tsukyomi to block a few of the nerve-endings associated to your emotion. As a result, your chakra can't pass through those nerves and reach the part of the brain that controls your emotions. This has cut down the extent of your emotions, but not completely diminished it as you may have noticed; so that they don't appear to be overwhelming for you to control anymore."

"You can do that?" Sakura tried not to gape in awe as suddenly everything began to make a lot more sense than before. Itachi merely threw her a look that made her flush. She tapped her chin, "And I assume you tried to reverse the process right now?"

Itachi nodded and added quietly, "In accord to your wish."

Sakura nodded, "Only my mind didn't take the overpowering pressure of so many different emotions so well. It rejected them..."

"Not necessarily," Itachi's words grabbed her attention and she looked with her brows furrowed, "Your mind could have adapted to it over time if it were to let be," he sighed softly, "but you asked me to take it away."

Sakura watched him; how could the man be so indifferent discussing such an important matter as her brain and everything associated along with it? Surely someone's sanity mattered to him a little more than he let on!

"And what about my..." She trailed off, hesitating. She wondered if she should mention about her Inner, and let him think of her as more of a freak than he already thought her to be.

Much to her shock, Itachi asked, "Your violent persona that resides within your mind?"

Sakura plain gawked at him as he smirked, bemused. Closing her mouth and opening it for a couple of times, Sakura finally found back her voice, "You met Inner?"

She mentally flipped at the thought of what Inner might have told him... If Inner had as much as winked at Itachi, she would see to it that Inner gets locked in the deepest, darkest corner of her mind. Oh, Itachi must think of her as a freak!

She watched as he cocked his head slightly, "Inner?" he said silkily, as if testing the word in his tongue, "Is that what you call it?"

Sakura nodded faintly, feeling a small blush creep up to her face. Itachi's smirk merely broadened, and just when she was about to tell him to wipe that infuriating smirk off his face and tell her what Inner had said to him, he seemed to have read her mind.

"Nothing," he replied to her first query, brushing it off like it didn't matter at all, "Nothing at all."

His words, as truthful they sounded, didn't put her heart to rest. Something was off, she could tell. But she knew that she would never be able to squeeze it out of the ice-cube-Uchiha, and that left her M-I-A Inner the only source of any answer.

Itachi spoke once again, grabbing her attention effectively, "I saw it...fit..." he didn't sound very convinced, "...to lock her up securely. It had been trying to undo my jutsu and come out of the restraints I put on it."

Sakura nodded; so she was right assuming that Itachi was the one to put Inner away in the first place, and now that Inner had been trying to find a way out, Itachi had made absolutely sure that it didn't. Was she glad with the absence of the constant company of her second mind? For the time being, she believed she could live without the sour self that Inner was.

She sighed, and discovered all of a sudden that her mind was absolutely worn out. Stifling a yawn at the back of her hand, she looked around. They were still on the ground and one look at the bed up against the wall was extremely tempting.

Konan was supposed to show her to her room where she would be staying for the period of time that they required her service. But she had run out on the woman in indignation and followed Itachi who just happened to be there, to wherever he took her. From the dark curtains to duvet in the darkest shade of blue told her instantly that he had brought her to his room. She didn't have the heart to question him; she was far too tired and it certainly wasn't like they hadn't shared a room before. Sakura acted like it didn't matter, her heart didn't race, or something didn't flutter in her stomach.

Suddenly she began to wonder if Itachi had been lingering in the cave for as long as to witness the whole conversation between Konan and her. The smirk on his lips when he made his presence known, told her that he was amused by her response to Konan's doubt in her loyalty. As much as Sakura didn't think that Itachi had any right to take pleasure from her torment when it came down to her loyalty towards Konoha, seeing that he was the one who had evoked the event, yet his amusement made her heart flutter. It meant that he approved, after all it wasn't just anything that amused Itachi.

And yes, what she told Konan was true. She had been living for herself for quite some time now, regardless if that made her selfish or a traitor.

Sakura wondered if she should tell Itachi of the beginning of her conversation with Konan. How the elder woman had all but blackmailed her. Konan had informed her that if any harm came to her partner, Akatsuki would hold Itachi responsible.

Sakura was shocked by this, why would they think of punishing Itachi for her actions? She and Itachi were hardly tangled in anything for people to assume that Itachi was the leverage over her. Sure Itachi was a man with extremely good looks, and like any other girl with raging hormones, she was attracted to him. It certainly didn't build a base for people to blackmail her with the meager assumption.

But Konan's words had hit her when she had mentioned to think this mission through, to think of how it would affect Sasuke if something were to happen to Itachi because of her. Something told her that Akatsuki had done a background check on her.

Sakura wanted to ask Itachi if he had witnessed the whole conversation, if he had it would save her the trouble of trying to explain it right to him, omitting a few things here and there, of course. She didn't know how to tell him that his life was pretty much under threat because of her. It would lead him to threaten her to do everything right and not screw things, after all Itachi himself had once not too long ago told her of his intention of self-preservation.

Or worse, what the whole thing implied. What would Itachi think of the fact that Konan had blackmailed her with his life? He would only think of it as a weakness and that she was weak. It would end up meaning more than it should. And if needed, he would without a doubt exploit her on the basis of this information, like he had done once already, knowing that she was to some extent attracted to him. If he only knew that attraction didn't quite fit the description anymore...

Shutting off her thoughts before it took some treacherous track; Sakura closed her eyes to savor the mental peace that wove throughout her mind. She sighed softly, "...Arigato."

Even through closed eyes, she could see in her mind's eye the impassive look that Itachi gave her before rising to his feet like it was nothing. She gave a small smile to herself. Trust him to be like himself even after everything. Sakura herself rose to her feet, thankful for the wall that was within her reach as she wobbled on her feet.

Steadying herself, she glanced at Itachi who was taking off his robe. She watched as his muscles flexed and the cloak fall from his shoulders to his elbows, and with a twist of his arms he was free from the cloth. The look that crossed his face was very minute, and she wouldn't have comprehended it if she didn't know any better.

Furrowing her brows, she looked him over. Her trained medic eyes were immediately drawn to his right arm. There was nothing wrong with his arm on the outside, of course. However, being a medic, Sakura could imagine the pain that must be going internally; especially when she herself was the one who had inflicted the blow one, two, three...seven days ago!

Sakura wondered how he had managed to not look like he was in pain for so long. Because she knew just how much an injury inflicted from a chakra scalpel could hurt. And she wondered how she herself had forgotten all about inflicting a wound so intense on someone like Itachi. He had appeared to be so unaffected by it all that she had simply dismissed the whole thing, thinking that Itachi was just as unaffected by the blow as he let on. Oh, how wrong she was.

'_And to think that he hadn't sought my assistance,'_ she mused to herself in castigation, _'Must be that pride of his.'_

"Is something the matter with your arm, Itachi-san?" She feigned innocence, wanting Itachi to be the one to relent to her for once.

"Hn," Itachi intoned and she had no way of knowing what that meant- yes or no.

Sakura raised a brow, walking slowly over to him where he stood with his back towards her. She watched intently his right arm that twitched very, very minutely from time to time; you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it. Oh, it was hurting him alright.

'_All these time,'_ she smiled faintly to herself, '_And I thought you were just inhuman in every way possible, Itachi.'_

"No?" She asked as she came to stand beside him. When Itachi showed no sign of replying, she yanked at his arm too quickly for him to move it away. This earned a wince from Itachi and a murderous glare towards her.

He snarled, trying to snatch back his arm from her strong grip, "What do you think you are doing?"

Sakura held on and pressed her lips in displeasure, "Healing an injury that can very well kill you," she told him grimly.

Itachi didn't say anything, but glared at her. Sakura paid him no heed and merely pressed some points all over his arm, testing and deducing the possible tribulations. Sighing, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner about it?"

There was no answer.

"It would have saved me a great deal of trouble if you came to me earlier, you know," she told him, "The later, the more severe the wound gets."

Just as she began to summon whatever healing chakra she could find within herself, Itachi pulled away his arm from her grip with his superior strength. Sakura jerked her head towards him and watched him step away from her.

"What the hell, Itachi-san?" She snapped.

"Hn," He began to climb in to the bed.

Sakura gawked at him, "I'm just trying to help, you know!"

"I do not require your help."

"The hell you don't!"

There was a pause.

"Do you even know what a scalpel injury can do to your internal process if left untreated?"

There was just another pause and Sakura sighed and tried to maintain a calm voice as she said, "Let me heal you, Itachi-san."

"Rest. You will need to replenish your chakra before morning."

Sakura stood there, watching him pull his covers over himself. He could have snapped at her, refused her offer, told her off, scared her shitless, or used Mangekyou on her. Instead, he had just simply told her to rest and replenish her chakra, since it was more important to have enough chakra to begin the healing session on the Akatsuki leader resulting to preserving her life for one more day, than healing him.

Sakura gave up reluctantly with the intention of attempting again when she had more chakra in her reserve and Itachi had no way of refusing. She felt like it was the least she could do after he helped her with her overwhelming emotions.

She walked over to the other side of the bed. She pressed one hand against the mattress experimentally and sighed deeply before climbing up on it. She looked over at Itachi expecting to find his red spinning eyes on her. But his eyes had reverted back to its original hues which didn't cease to amaze her any less than his blood limit.

He had conjured a thick volume out of nowhere and looked engrossed in it. His right arm, the source of her displeasure was tucked beneath his head as his other propped up the book for him to read. Sakura's lips pressed into a thin line, which she knew that he could see out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn't look towards her.

Slightly fuming in principle, though her heart wasn't really in it, she plopped herself on the soft mattress, her back to Itachi.

She wanted to tell him about Konan's threat. Surely, he had the rights to know about any threat that is made on his life. But she was too frustrated to think of what he might think of the implications behind Konan's words. So she decided to hope that Itachi had been lingering in the tavern long enough to witness the whole conversation. And she hoped for the best; that she doesn't screw this whole thing up.

'_The last thing I want is to have Sasuke breathing down my neck for the rest of my life,'_ she told herself, reluctant to admit to her own desires towards the elder Uchiha in the matter.

She shifted, seeking to find a comfortable position. She wanted to discuss with Itachi about the possibilities of what might be wrong with their leader, but was quick to remember the contract that bound her to speak of it to no one. It didn't bode well with her.

She shifted as quietly as she could manage, not enthusiastic about disturbing Itachi's attention by her movements. She turned around so now she faced him. He was still lying on his back, his injured arm tucked under his head. The book that he had been reading was lying on his stomach, his other hand resting over it. His head was tilted towards the ceiling; his eyes slipped shut, so that his long eyelashes brushed the skin underneath his eyes. Sakura blinked at this uncharacteristic behavior, because he had never let his guard down before around anyone. Even when it came to the two of them sharing the room, he had been careful enough to let her fall into a deep slumber before dozing off himself, if he indeed went to sleep.

Seeing him so unguarded was unlike anything she had ever witnessed, and so fascinating at the same time, that she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him. In the next second, Itachi inhaled deeply, breaking her trace and leaving her blinking. He had opened his eyes again; they were still his normal charcoal dark but clouded with something else that she couldn't begin to define. It made her gulp a little.

She watched the contours of his chiseled face; from his perfectly proportionate forehead, to his sharp nose which was neither too long nor too short, to his lips that always seemed to be pressed into a thin line. Her gaze lingered on his lips for a long time until she felt sleep beginning to crawl up to her.

She shook her head inwardly and watched Itachi who had once again picked up the book. It was a split second decision born out of what she was convinced as utter lack of thinking on her part. Before she knew it, she had lifted her head off her pillow and leaned in towards him, pressing herself against the bone of his shoulder. If Itachi had thought that she was merely trying to get up into a half sitting position from where she could pour herself a glass of water from the jug that stood on the bedside table, he didn't anymore as his eyes bled red almost immediately.

She offered him a small smile which wasn't returned and leaning in before Itachi could even make a move to shift away, she planted a quick kiss on his cheeks. She felt his muscles slowly beginning to relax under her touch.

"Goodnight, Itachi-san," her soft lips brushed against his carved cheeks as she murmured sleepily. And not expecting any response, she fell back and shut her eyes to the world, drifting off as soon as her head hit the pillow.

**SXS**

Sakura woke up to the sound of persistent knocks. She moaned and tossed around in her bed, not wanting to be disturbed. But it seemed someone else had answered the door for her, as the knocks stopped and the door made a creaking noise as it slung open.

"Deidara."

Sakura jolted up at the mention of the name, looking frantically from her right to her left. The door was wide open, but Itachi's cloaked back hid Deidara from her view. They were conversing in hushed tones. Sakura pushed off the duvet off herself, inhaling the smell that wafted off it; the delicious smell that was purely Itachi, sandalwood with a tang of masculine scent.

She wanted to go and have a talk with Deidara, or at least say hi to him. The last time she had seen him, he didn't look like he wanted to talk to her, or have anything to do with her. She decided that it was high time that they either established a true bond, or just went on with their separate ways instead of this wavering...'familiarity' they had with each other. A part of herself was dubious of the how much Deidara would want to do with her if he saw her approaching from the bed of his nemesis.

Nevertheless, she was just about to climb down the bed when Itachi slammed the door shut, making her jump a little. Still seated on the bed, her feet dangling over the edge, she glanced towards the elder Uchiha over her shoulder and raised her brows.

He didn't say anything. And after her impulsive action last night, Sakura had a very good mind that he wouldn't look her way for the rest of the day. She decided to catch his attention herself.

"Have you changed your mind?" She called out to him, turning around so that she sat facing towards him. She glanced down meaningfully towards his right arm.

Itachi merely continued brushing his long locks of ebony, showing no indication of having heard her. Sakura rolled her eyes, was a harmless goodnight kiss to the cheek from her so repulsive a notion to him, that he had gone to the extent of avoiding her? Surely Uchiha Itachi wasn't affected by as little as a kiss... She hadn't meant any harm by it. Besides, Sakura didn't think a kiss from a girl who is so messed up that she can hardly make a coherent thought, was worth anything; much less, silent treatment.

"You know, you don't even have to ask," she told him, knowing that he was listening, "Just nod, or make that grunting noise that you're always making and I'll take care of it."

When he didn't answer, Sakura huffed; _'This is awkward.'_

"Fine," she frowned slightly, "I think I'll just use all these chakra to mold papers into butterflies like I watched Konan-san do last night."

This finally evoked a reaction in Itachi as he grunted, "Save your chakra. You'll need it in whatever Leader needs you to do."

"And aren't you curious about what it is that he requires of me?" She batted an eye-lash towards him.

"No," his voice was firm as ever, declining her and making her pout.

**SXS**

Sakura accompanied Itachi down to breakfast, where they parted ways for the day. Sakura was left in the company of Kisame and two other Akatsuki that she knew only by their reputation, as Itachi sauntered away.

'_At least Kisame is here,'_ the thought was the only consolation she had as she watched the antics of the other two Akatsuki; if she had thought at first that Kisame was horrid, she didn't know how to describe these two.

Sakura thought that if she were in touch with her raging emotions, she would have been more than scared shitless by all the scythe swinging that Hidan did. She had to duck twice already to make sure that her head didn't fall right off her shoulder.

Konan came just as Sakura was putting down her cup, done with her tea.

"Sakura," the blue haired woman called out, snapping all their attention effectively to herself.

"Konan-san," The pinkette rose from her seat and padded over, assuming that it must be the time to begin the first phase of their deal.

Konan didn't say anything as Sakura came to stand beside her, only giving the pink haired medic a thorough look from head to toe, otherwise, she just turned around expecting Sakura to follow her lead.

Before following the elder woman's suit out of the room, Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Kisame who seemed to be flashing her an encouraging smile in his own way. She flashed him one in return; almost as if promising him that she would be alright, but more than that, it felt like she was assuring herself.

Kona didn't speak to her the entire journey, nor did Sakura find any reason to deign herself to begin on her own. They reached their destination fairly quickly, and Sakura realized that Konan had brought her back to the Leader's office.

She wondered if the blue haired woman would come along as well, and wasn't certain of whether she felt relieved or not, when Konan entered after her.

Despite being broad daylight, the room was shrouded in shadows just as it had been the previous night. And the Leader was leaning back in his throne like chair, just as he had been last night. Seeing them enter, he cleared his throat, and called out in that cold voice of his that Sakura had forgotten, "Come, come."

As they neared to him, the orange haired evil master-mind rose from his seat, and walked around his table to come and stand in front of them, all the while his eyes caught with Konan's. Sakura wondered if there was something else going on between the Leader and the woman; perhaps they were not as incapable of feeling emotions as they let on.

"Sakura," Pain's voice brought her back to reality and she snapped her head towards him and nodded in acknowledgement. He continued, "Are you ready to begin?"

She nodded once again, otherwise, remained silent.

"Is there any equipment or anything that you require?" He asked her.

Sakura shook her head, "No. My chakra will be enough for the time being," she motioned him to be seated on one of the chair nearby, her medic side already kicking in, "As I'll only be doing a full check-up and come up with an evaluation before beginning the real process of healing, which will take a much longer period of time."

Pain did as she asked and leaned back on the chair as comfortably as he could. His gaze fixed up at the wall above.

"I want to start with your eyes," she told him, and then added as if she needed to explain her actions, "I notice your eyes are most exceptional."

It took some time for Pain to nod in approval, and Sakura waited patiently for it. When she had the permission to proceed in accord to her wish she summoned healing chakra to the tips of her finger. She took care to probe only a minimal amount of her chakra, only that was absolutely necessary, lest she alarmed him who was not used to her foreign chakra prodding.

Sakura pursed her lips as she probed her chakra around, checking and rechecking all the nerve around the eyes, looking thoroughly for any damages. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, but she couldn't help noticing, and didn't hesitate to voice her query, "Are these eyes of yours implanted?"

There was a pause where Konan and Pain looked deep into each other's gaze.

"...No."

Sakura didn't believe it; both their behavior and her enquiry proved otherwise, yet she nodded, letting the prospect leave. Instead, she probed a little further with the intention of perhaps finding how the eyes worked; after all, Pain's eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen. But Pain seemed to be paranoid enough to have his guard up, his chakra itself acted as a barrier to any probing that may be anything more than harmless, preventing her from probing into the mechanism behind his visual prowess.

Sakura pursed her lips, _'How wise of him.'_

She decided to drop the matter of his eyes entirely, not enthusiastic about probing too much lest her intention be revealed and got her into more trouble than worth. She announced, "Nothing seems to be the matter with your eyes."

Pain nodded as if he had expected nothing less, so she continued, "I'll now move on to your body. I can see that nothing seems to be the matter externally," she sent a spike of chakra over his skin only to prove her assumption correct, "but you seem to be worried that something might be not right in the internal process. So I'll address that problem without anymore delay."

Again, she waited for Pain's nod of approval, and when she had that, she began her examination. Sakura sent spikes of chakra all around his body, sometimes bursts of it where necessary, but couldn't find anything the matter for the longest time.

She was about to give up and tell them that they could rest assured that nothing at all seemed to be the matter with the Akatsuki leader, when her chakra hit a particular circulation of his chakra within his body. It immediately drew her attention as this was something that she hadn't noticed throughout the entire examination despite checking and rechecking thorough it.

Now that she thought about it, Pain seemed to house a lot of chakra within him for one person. And even then, each of the chakra flow that circulated around him was a little bit different from the previous flow. Not to mention, the flows were exceptionally strong right under each of his assorted piercings ranging all over his body.

'_It's like...'_ she trialed off, alarmed at once at the thought that crossed her mind.

She met Pain's gaze with her widened ones. His words from the previous night, that she would understand soon enough, made more sense now than it had before.

"Leader-san...?" Her voice sounded rather weak.

"Aa?" Pain peered right into her eyes, something unreadable shinning deep inside those ringed blue eyes.

"So where is it?" She asked in a whisper.

"Pardon?"

"Your real body, I mean."

And she couldn't help wonder if Uchiha Itachi even had the slightest idea of what he had gotten her, and not to mention himself, into.

To be continued...

**A/N:** _Leave a review if you can, it feels so motivating so motivating hearing from you guys!_


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